SAVANNAH — The Catholic community of the Savannah area now has a new bishop.
Gregory John Hartmayer was ordained the 14th Catholic bishop of Savannah on Tuesday in the Cathedral of John the Baptist in Savannah.
As such, Hartmayer will be chief shepherd of the Diocese of Savannah, which includes the 90 counties of South Georgia, including 78 parishes and missions.
Among them is St. Stepehn Catholic Church in Hinesville.
Hartmayer is a Franciscan priest whose most recent assignment was as pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Lithia Springs.
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., he spent 16 years of his 32 years of priesthood in Catholic high school education and the past 16 years in parish ministry.
The Savannah Diocese, which was founded in 1850, covers 38,000 square miles in South Georgia and includes a Catholic population of more than 77,000.