The five-county Catholic Diocese of Allentown officially welcomed its new leader on Monday, when His Excellency, Bishop Edward Peter Cullen, was installed as only the third bishop of the diocese during a ceremony in the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown.

He succeeds Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, who held the position previously handled by the diocese’s first bishop, Joseph D. McShea.

Bishop Welsh was joined by His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, and His Excellency, Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, Papal Nuncio, for the installation.