New Presiding Bishopric Announced

Bishop Gérald Caussé is named as the new presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dean M. Davies will serve as first counselor and W. Christopher Waddell as second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric.

The First Presidency made the announcement Friday, October 9, 2015. The new assignments are effective immediately, but there will also be a transition period.

Bishop Gérald Caussé

Bishop Gérald Caussé, 52, of France, is named the presiding bishop of the Church on October 9, 2015. He fills the vacancy created by Gary E. Stevenson, who became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015.  

Prior to this assignment, Bishop Caussé served as the first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric since March 2012. He previously served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and as a counselor in the Europe Area Presidency. He is the third presiding bishop born outside the United States and the first for whom English is a second language. 

Bishop Caussé received a master’s degree in business from France's ESSEC Business School in 1987. His career has been in the food industry, where he worked with several supermarket chains and food distribution companies. He was the general manager of Pomona, a food distribution company in France. He worked as the director of logistics for the Carrefour group, an international grocery retail firm. 

He was born in Bordeaux, France, May 20, 1963. He married Valérie Lucienne Babin in August 2, 1986.  They are the parents of five children and have five grandchildren. 

Bishop Dean M. Davies

Bishop Dean M. Davies, 64, will serve as the first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Prior to this assignment, he served as second counselor to Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, who became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015.

Bishop Davies has been employed by the Church since July 1995 and has filled various assignments. Most recently he was managing director of the Special Projects Department, with responsibility for special-purpose real estate, temple design and temple construction.

Previous to Church employment, Bishop Davies was employed by High Industries, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and by Bechtel Investments, Inc., of San Francisco, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics at Brigham Young University and completed advanced executive programs at Stanford and Northwestern Universities.

Bishop Davies served as mission president of the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission, and is fluent in Spanish.

Dean Myron Davies was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 5, 1951. He married Darla James on June 20, 1973, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have five children and 14 grandchildren.

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, 56, has been called to serve as the second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric.

Bishop Waddell has served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since April 2011.

Wayne Christopher Waddell was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 28, 1959. He married Carol Stansel in July 1984. They are the parents of four children and have three grandchildren. Elder and Sister Waddell reside in Lima, Peru, where he currently serves as a counselor in the South America Northwest Area presidency. He will continue to serve in Peru for a short time as his responsibilities are transferred.

Bishop Waddell received a bachelor’s degree in 1984 from San Diego State University. Beginning in 1984 he worked with Merrill Lynch in several positions, including first vice president of investments.

Bishop Waddell has served in numerous Church callings, including as a full-time missionary in Spain, and is fluent in Spanish.

Update (October 20, 2015): Elder Hugo Montoya will serve as a counselor in the South America Northwest Area presidency in the vacancy left by Bishop Waddell's call to the Presiding Bishopric.