ST. AUGUSTINE (CBS4) – An auxiliary bishop at the Miami archdiocese has just received a big promotion. Monsignor Felipe Estevez, a Roman Catholic priest who left Cuba for the U.S. as part of “Operation Pedro Pan” has been named the bishop for the Diocese of St. Augustine.

Monsignor Estevez has been auxiliary bishop at the Miami archdiocese since 2004. Pope Benedict XVI named the 65-year-old bishop of St. Augustine on Wednesday.

Estevez was 15 when he was sent out of Cuba in 1961. He was among roughly 14,000 Cuban children whose parents sent them out of the communist island alone.

He was relocated to Indiana. He was ordained a priest in 1970 and joined the Archdiocese of Miami in 1979.

Estevez replaces Bishop Victor Galeone, who has retired after nine years as bishop.

The St. Augustine Diocese serves about 171,000 Catholics in 17 counties.

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