PROSPECT HEIGHTS — This past Friday, May 3, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati was diagnosed with cancer and has begun preparations for chemotherapy, the archdiocese has announced.

Archbishop Schnurr received a postoperative diagnosis of stage 3 small bowel cancer. According to the archdiocese, Archbishop Schnurr’s doctor noted that in general his health is “excellent, and that is certainly a source of optimism for the success of the treatment.”

Archbishop Schnurr’s treatment plan includes a regimen of chemotherapy over the next six months, preparation for which will begin this week, the archdiocese said. He plans on continuing to work while receiving treatments, the archdiocese added.

Archbishop Schnurr, 75, became the archbishop of Cincinnati on Dec. 21, 2009, after spending a little more than a year as the coadjutor archbishop of the archdiocese. Before this, he led the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, from January 2001 until his coadjutor appointment in Cincinnati in October 2008.

The archdiocese said there is no additional information at this time, and asked for prayers for Archbishop Schnurr.

“We ask all Catholics and people of goodwill to please keep Archbishop Schnurr in their prayers,” the archdiocese said in a statement.