The Rev. Robert Wehage, pastor of St. Pius X church in Edgewood, has been named temporary administrator of the 89,000-member Diocese of Covington.

        Father Wehage was chosen Monday by the College of Consultors, a committee made up of eight priests. He will continue as pastor of St. Pius X, while serving as the temporary leader of the Diocese of Covington.

Wehage

        As part of the official signing ceremony on Wednesday, Father Wehage signed an oath of fidelity and profession of faith in the presence of seven of the consultors.

        “I think the fact that he was selected to do this would indicate that he has the respect of the priests and the diocese as a whole,” said diocesan spokesman Tim Fitzgerald.

        Diocesan officials have said it will likely be six to 12 months before Pope John Paul II appoints a new bishop. Former Covington Bishop Robert Muench was recently installed as the new bishop of Baton Rouge, La.

        As administrator, Father Wehage will lead the diocese and serve as its representative, but he does not have the power to ordain priests, close parishes, or sell diocesan property, as a bishop could, Mr. Fitzgerald said.

        In 1971, Father Wehage, 56, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Covington. Before coming to St. Pius X, one of the largest churches in the diocese with about 1,700 families, he was pastor of St. Henry Church in Elsmere for nine years.

        Father Wehage attended St. Pius X seminary and Mount St. Mary's of the West Seminary in Cincinnati. He received his degree in canon law at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

        Father Wehage served as judicial vicar in Covington's marriage tribunal from 1984 to 1991. Since 1991, he has been judge for the Louisville-based interdiocesan appeal court that considers marriage annulments. He will continue in those duties.

        Father Wehage also chaired the diocesan Presbyteral Council from 1997 to 1999.

        The Diocese of Covington covers 14 counties and includes 47 parishes. Half of its 110 priests remain active, and the rest are retired, ill, or have other assignments.

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