Newly ordained bishop for the Armidale Catholic diocese Bishop Peter Murphy is set to meet the new Pope later this year.

Bishop Murphy was officially ordained as the new diocese bishop last Thursday, the same day Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV.

The Northern Daily Leader reports Bishop Murphy will meet Pope Leo in Rome in September.

Bishop Murphy celebrated his first mass in his new role on Friday morning.

He studied agriculture and worked as a field agronomist in Melbourne before entering the seminary and has served over 32 years in the priesthood, being the parish priest at Lockhart, Tumbarumba and Lavington.

The position had been vacant since 2023 following the departure of former Bishop of Armidale Diocese Michael Kennedy who moved to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.