Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, 77, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Albany and has appointed Bishop Mark O’Connell as his successor.
The Holy See Bulletin announcement, issued on 20 October 2025, confirms the transition of leadership in the New York state diocese.
Bishop O’Connell, 61, currently serves as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Boston and has held the posts of vicar general and moderator of the curia since December 2022. A canon lawyer by training, he was ordained in 1990, holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and has long served in the judicial and administrative structures of the Church in Boston.
