Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) will name Barry C. Black to be the new Senate chaplain Tuesday, selecting the first black person to be the chamber’s spiritual leader.

Black currently serves as the chief of chaplains for the Navy. He will replace former Senate Chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie, who stepped down in March to care for his ailing wife.

Black has been in the Navy since 1976, rising to his current position in August 2000. Prior to his service in the Navy, Black served as a circuit pastor for the Seventh Day Adventist Church in North Carolina and South Carolina.

As Senate chaplain, Black will be charged with opening the chamber each day with a prayer as well as counseling Senators, staffers and families on spiritual matters.