Father Neil Tiedemann - contributed

Members of the Catholic Church from across the island packed the ground of the St Paul of the Cross Cathedral in Mandeville on Wednesday to wel-come their new Bishop, Reverend Neil Tiedemann.

Bishop Tiedemann becomes the third Bishop of the Diocese of Mandeville, replacing Bishop Gorden Bennett ,who suddenly resigned two years ago after a short stint at the helm from 2004 to 2005.

Bishop Bennett's resignation left some members disgruntled as he was said to have been given very little support as the first and only black bishop to head the diocese.

As a result of Bishop Bennett's departure, the diocese has been without a bishop to lead the flock for the past two years.

Tiedemann's appointment came from the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI , on May 20.

Experience

According to Pope Benedict in his message to Bishop Tiedemann, he was selected to head the Diocese because of his "experience in church matters" and other gifts he is recognised to possess."

After the four hour long installation ceremony, which included welcoming messages from community members, the business sector and other church groups as well as the Custos of Manchester, Gilbert Allen , Bishop Tiedemann, expressed appreciation to all who attended.

At times, the soft spoken Bishop had the packed cathedral in laughter, as he told of how he thought the phone call advising of his appointment as the new Bishop of Mandeville was a joke.

He was ordained as a priest on May 16, 1975. He is a graduate of St John's University, Long Island , New York in the United States of America. He performed most of his priestly duties in the US and Honduras where he served from 1984-1994 and again from 2005-2006. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 5, 1948.

Others in attendance included Father Ho Lung, Rev. Ronnie Thwaites, Paul Burke, Jean Anderson, Sally Porteous and a host of others.