The Diocese of San Diego elected the Rev. Canon James Mathes, 45, to be its next bishop Nov. 13 at a special convention at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Canon Mathes was elected by a narrow margin on the third ballot from among seven candidates. He has served as canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Chicago since 2001. Prior to that he had been rector of St. James the Less, Northfield, Ill., since 1994, and from 1991 to 1994 he was assistant at All Saints’, Belmont, Mass., concurrently serving as chaplain at McLean Hospital in Belmont. He holds degrees from the University of the South and Virginia Theological Seminary. The bishop-elect and his wife, Teri, have two teenaged children.

The diocesan nominating committee prepared a slate of five candidates: the Rt. Rev. Anthony Burton, Bishop of Saskatchewan (Canada); the Rev. Jonathan B. Coffey, Jr., rector of St. Anthony on the Desert, Scottsdale, Ariz.; the Rev. Kent S. McNair, rector of Faith Church, Cameron Park, Calif.; the Rev. David A. Stenner, rector of All Saints’, Reisterstown, Md.; and Canon Mathes. Three candidates were added to the slate by petition: the Rev. John Conrad, rector of St. Alban’s, El Cajon, Calif.; the Ven. William Dopp, archdeacon of San Diego; and the Rt. Rev. George Packard, Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies in the Episcopal Church. Bishop Packard withdrew his name prior to the convention.

Assuming sufficient consents are received, Canon Mathes will be consecrated March 5 at the Town and Country Convention Center, San Diego. He will succeed Bishop Gethin Hughes, who will be on sabbatical leave until the end of February. Bishop Hughes will retire March 5, having served as diocesan since 1992.