(KTAL/KMSS) SHREVEPORT, La – Francis Malone is the 3rd bishop to be ordained for the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport.

Malone is a bishop coming from the Diocese of Little Rock and as a pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock Arkansas.

Today the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport held his ordination and installation mass here at the Shreveport Convention Center.

The convention center was packed with Catholics from Shreveport and Arkansas to witness this ordination, something that rarely happens.

“I had to wait about two and a half months for this day, but as one priest had shared with me, have you realized God has been preparing you for this day all your life long? So that is how I feel, I feel God has been preparing me for this,” said Bishop Francis Malone, the new bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport.

“It means a lot because this doesn’t happen that often and also the fact that you see how many people are here you know all different kinds because they’re Catholics and they want to experience ordination and we’re just proud to have Bishop Malone,” said Mary Bicknell who was in attendance of the ordination.

This is the 2nd time Little Rock Diocese has given a bishop to Louisiana, the first time it happened was back in 1973 when bishop Lawrence Graves came to the then Alexandria-Shreveport. Graves was a native of Texarkana, Arkansas.

Bishop Malone is the third Catholic bishop for Shreveport, replacing Bishop Michael Duca, who is now the head of the Baton Rouge Catholic Diocese.