The Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior, who currently serves as an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, has been appointed as the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg by Pope Francis.

“As I said in the announcement released a short time ago by @ArchPhilly, this moment is one of great joy for the Church in Philadelphia!” Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez said in a tweet this week. “I’ve known and worked closely with Bishop Senior since long before either of us were bishops.”

The Diocese of Harrisburg, established in 1868, encompasses 15 counties in central Pennsylvania and has a Catholic population of over 200,000, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said in a release issued Wednesday.

Senior, who was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia in July 2009, currently holds the position of Regional Bishop of Montgomery County and Philadelphia-South. He also serves as Chancellor of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Prior to taking on those responsibilities, Senior had held various leadership roles in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said in a statement.

Senior is a classically trained pianist and was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1985. He has earned several academic degrees, including a Master's of Divinity and Master of Arts in Theology, a Master's in Social Work and a Master's in Business Administration, the archdiocese said in its release.

“I am profoundly grateful to Pope Francis for his confidence and trust in appointing me to serve the faithful of the Diocese of Harrisburg as their next bishop," Senior said in the release. "Trusting in God’s will and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I pray that I may be a faithful, holy, and worthy shepherd for the people of central Pennsylvania in service of Jesus Christ and for the good of His Church.”