Norwich ― The Most Rev. Michael Cote, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Norwich, announced Tuesday in a news release that Pope Francis has accepted his resignation, which Cote submitted nearly six weeks ago on his 75th birthday, as required by church law.

The pope has appointed Archbishop Christopher Coyne of the Archdiocese of Hartford as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Norwich, an interim post.

Cote’s successor as bishop will be appointed “in due time,” according to the release.

“It has been a profound honor and joy to serve as your bishop for over two decades,” Cote said in the release. “Walking with you in faith and ministering alongside so many dedicated clergy, ministry directors, and parishioners has been a true blessing in my life, one that I will always hold dear.”

The temporary appointment is in addition to Coyne’s primary responsibilities as the Archbishop of Hartford and will allow continuity in leadership for Catholics in Middlesex, New London, Windham and Tolland counties, and Fishers Island, N.Y., the Norwich Diocese said.

“I am grateful to our Holy Father for this opportunity to steward our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Norwich while we await the appointment of their next bishop,” Coyne said. “I also wish to convey my very best wishes in retirement for Bishop Cote, who lovingly shepherded the faithful of Norwich for 21 years.”

Cote, who will transition to the role of bishop emeritus, had been installed as the fifth bishop of Norwich on March 11, 2003, succeeding Bishop Daniel Hart.

In 2021, the diocese filed for bankruptcy, calling it “the most equitable way” to resolve more than 60 pending lawsuits filed against the diocese alleging the rape and sexual abuse of boys who attended the former Academy at Mount Saint John in Deep River from 1990 to 2002, as well as other sexual assaults.

At the time, Cote said the diocese’s announcement of the bankruptcy filing was “probably the most important news that I have had to deliver in my 18 years as the shepherd of the Diocese of Norwich,” and it was “only taken after two years of careful deliberation and prayer.”

As part of the bankruptcy case, which is still pending, the diocese last year auctioned the St. Bernard School property it owned in Montville to raise funds for payments to survivors of sexual abuse.

Cote was born June 19, 1949, in Sanford, Maine, and was ordained as a priest on June 29, 1975, by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. He earned a Licentiate of Canon Law from the Catholic University of America, and in 1995, was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Portland, Maine.

Coyne, 66, a native of Woburn, Mass., became the sixth archbishop and 14th bishop of Hartford on May 1, 2024, upon Pope Francis’ acceptance of the resignation of Archbishop Leonard Blair, who turned 75. Coyne had been appointed coadjutor archbishop of Hartford in June 2023, after serving as bishop of Burlington, Vt., since 2015.

Ordained to the priesthood by the Archdiocese of Boston in 1986, he was an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis from 2011 to 2015.

As archbishop of Hartford, Coyne oversees the Ecclesiastical Province of Hartford, which comprises all of Connecticut and Rhode Island, including the Dioceses of Bridgeport, Norwich and Providence.

In a November interview published by America Media, he proposed relocating the Vatican out of Rome and said he hoped women might one day be ordained as deaconesses.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com