The Most Rev. Thomas J. Welsh, a native of Weatherly, was installed Tuesday as the first-ever Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.

The ceremony took place in the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, Arlington, where the new bishop was charged with overseeing the spiritual needs of 136,000 Catholics who reside in 21 counties of Northern Virginia. The new diocese detached from the Diocese of Richmond.

Bishop Welsh, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Edward Welsh, is the former rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook. He was appointed an auxiliary bishop in 1970 to serve the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.