BISHOP MARK A. ECKMAN. PHOTO COURTESY DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH

A new bishop will soon be leading the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

David A. Zubik, bishop since 2007, has resigned. He had reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for that position last September, according to a Diocese announcement.

Pope Leo XIV accepted Zubik’s resignation, and at the same time, appointed Auxiliary Bishop Mark A. Eckman as the 13th bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, where he will lead its 60 parishes in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene Lawrence and Washington counties.

Bishop Eckman will be installed on Monday, July 14 during a special Mass at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland.

“I am both grateful and thrilled with this appointment,” Zubik wrote in a letter to diocesan clergy and staff Wednesday morning. “Bishop Eckman knows the diocese. And we know him as an exceptional pastor, and outstanding administrator — truly an exemplary priest.”

Bishop Eckman has served the diocese as an auxiliary bishop since 2022, and before that had been a longtime parish priest, mostly in the South Hills.

“With a grateful and humble heart, I accept this appointment and ask for the prayers of all the faithful,” Eckman said in a statement. “Together, we will continue the mission of Jesus Christ with hope.”

BISHOP DAVID A. ZUBIK. PHOTO COURTESY DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH

Zubik was appointed as bishop of the Pittsburgh Diocese by Pope Benedict XVI and was installed on Sept. 28, 2007.

He made his mark immediately; breaking a 57-year tradition, Zubik declined to move into the 39-room mansion on Warwick Terrace in Squirrel Hill, choosing instead to live in the more humble accommodations of St. Paul Seminary in East Carnegie. The mansion was sold in 2009 to a private trust for $2 million.

According to a biography on the Diocese website, Bishop Eckman is a Pittsburgh native. He graduated from St. Valentine Elementary School in Bethel Park and the former South Hills Catholic High School in Mt. Lebanon, now Seton LaSalle Catholic High School.

A graduate of Duquesne University, he received a master of divinity degree from Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe. He was ordained on May 11, 1985 and later was ordained an auxiliary bishop in 2022. When not conducting his official duties, he enjoys photography as well as hiking and skiing in the mountains.