Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Maureen Lally-Green will retire July 31 to become director of the newly created Office for Church Relations of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Her new job is to explain to the broader community the many charitable and educational efforts in the six-county diocese. She will meet with representatives of civic and governmental groups, foundations and community organizations.

Her office is in the diocesan stewardship and development office, which raises money. The extent to which she may be involved in fundraising has not been determined.

"It will be challenging, and it's a position where wonderful things can happen," she said.

"The bishop has pointed out that what we do within the diocese is often not known, so this is sharing the good news."

Diocesan officials have sometimes been surprised to find that some Pittsburghers are unaware of efforts such as the Extra Mile Foundation, which subsidizes tuition for poor, inner-city children -- most of them non-Catholic -- to attend Catholic grade schools.

Bishop David Zubik said that "Judge Lally-Green's extensive knowledge of the church, her love and dedicated service to our entire community and the respect with which she is universally held make her an outstanding representative of the diocese."

Judge Lally-Green, 59, is a resident of Cranberry, where her family attends St. Kilian parish. She has been friends with Bishop Zubik since they were classmates at Duquesne University, graduating in 1971.

She went on to the Duquesne School of Law, then entered private practice. Later she became a law professor at Duquesne, teaching full-time for 15 years.

In 1998, then-Gov. Tom Ridge tapped her to complete a vacant term on the Superior Court. She was elected to a 10-year term the next year. She has continued to teach as an adjunct at Duquesne.

At the same time she was involved in charitable work, including several projects related to the Catholic church. She has been a member of the board for St. Francis University in Loretto, Cambria County, and St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe.