Just six months after being named coadjutor, Bishop Robert Vasa has become Bishop of Santa Rosa. The Vatican announced yesterday it had accepted the resignation of Bishop Daniel Walsh even though he has yet to reach the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Bishop Vasa, 60, formerly Bishop of Baker, Oregon, has developed a reputation as tough and outspoken defender of Catholic orthodoxy. When Bishop Vasa was named coadjutor of Santa Rosa on Jan. 24, Bishop Walsh, who has led the see since 2000, told a local newspaper he would likely retire within a year.

In a February letter to the diocesan faithful, Bishop Walsh, 73, said he had been seeking a replacement for several years. “On October 8, 2008, I wrote to the Apostolic Nuncio to suggest that the time had come to appoint a new bishop to lead the Diocese of Santa Rosa,” wrote Bishop Walsh. “I mentioned in that letter my reasons, particularly that I had accomplished all that I could here in the Diocese and that I was exhausted from dealing with the clergy abuse cases that had arisen over the years.”