BREAKING Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Aymond of New Orleans; Succeeded by Archbishop James Checchio

Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans; Succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop James ChecchioPope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, 76, from the Office of Archbishop of New Orleans. On the same day, Coadjutor Archbishop James F. Checchio, will assume the pastoral governance of the archdiocese.

February 11, 2026

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, 76, from the Office of Archbishop of New Orleans. On the same day, Coadjutor Archbishop James F. Checchio, will assume the pastoral governance of the archdiocese.

The announcement was publicized in Washington, D.C. on February 11, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Archbishop Checchio’ biography may be found below.

Archbishop James Francis Checchio, J.C.D., M.B.A.
15th Archbishop (18th Bishop) of New Orleans
(2025 - present)

   James Checchio was born on 21 April 1966, in Camden, New Jersey, to James and Helen Checchio. He attended St. John School in Collingwood, New Jersey, then Paul VI High School in Haddon Township, New Jersey, where he graduated in 1984. Cheechio then entered the University of Scranton, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1988.
Discerning an ecclesiastical vocation, Cheechio received priestly formation from the North American College in Rome, while earning a theology degree from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, on 20 June 1992, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, by the Bishop of Camden from 1989 to 1998, the Most Reverend James McHugh.
Father Checchio served as associate priest at St. Peter Parish in Merchantville in 1992 and 1993. He earned a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1993. He served as parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish in Blackwood from 1993 to 1995, and then as associate priest at St. Peter Celestine Parish in Cherry Hill in 1996.
In 1997, Bishop McHugh appointed Father Checchio as his priest secretary. At the same time, Father Checchio: (a) worked on the Diocesan Tribunal as Defender of the Bond in annulment cases, (b) received appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the Diocese of Camden, and (c) served as assistant director of the Office of Public Relations and Communications.
On 7 December 1998, Pope St. John Paul II transferred Bishop McHugh from Camden, to become coadjutor bishop of Rockville Centre. On 8 June 1999, the Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, followed as sixth Bishop of Camden, until 2003.
In the year of his appointment, 1999, Bishop DiMarzio reappointed Father Checchio as priest-secretary, and added Moderator of the Diocesan Curia.
In 2000, Father Checchio was appointed a chaplain of His Holiness by Pope John Paul II. A "Chaplain of His Holiness" is a title of distinction given by pope’s to recognize a priest's service to the Church, it is a first degree prelature without territorial jurisdiction entitling recipients to be addressed as "Monsignor".
In 2001, Monsignor Checchio, became administrator of Holy Spirit Parish in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Three years later, in 2004, he became episcopal vicar for administration. In this period, Monsignor Checchio also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia.
In 2004, Monsignor Checchio was appointed vice-rector of his alma mater, the Pontifical North American College in Rome. The following year, on 12 December 2005, he was promoted to rector, the ecclesiastical equivalent of a college president and chief executive office. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI elevated Checchio to the second degree of prelature, Honorary Prelate of His Holiness, which is a higher level of Monsignor.
Five years later, on 8 March 2016, Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Checchio to follow Bishop Paul Bootkoski as fifth Bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey. Checchio received episcopal ordination on 3 May 2016 at the Church of the Sacred Heart in South Plainfield, New Jersey.
The Principal Consecrator was the Most Reverend John Joseph Myers, Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. The Principal Co-Consecrators were Checchio’s predecessor, the Most Rev. Paul Gregory Bootkoski, Bishop Emeritus of Metuchen, New Jersey, along with the Most Rev. Dennis Joseph Sullivan, then Bishop of Checchio’s home diocese of Camden, New Jersey.
On September 24, 2025, the Most Reverend James Checchio was appointed Coadjutor bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans by Pope Leo XIV. Archbishop James Checchio formally began his ministry as the Coadjutor Archbishop of New Orleans with a Mass of Welcome at St. Louis Cathedral on November 18, 2025.
On February 11, 2026, Pope Leo XIV formally accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans formally making Most Reverend James F. Checchio the 15th Archbishop of New Orleans.
      
The Archdiocese of New Orleans is comprised of 4,208 square miles in the State of Louisiana.