OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 22 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

- appointed Fr. Miguel Angel Olaverri Arroniz, S.D.B., as bishop of Pointe-Noire (area 13,500, population 2,384,000, Catholics 1,392,000, priests 76, religious 89), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bishop-elect was born in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain in 1948 and was ordained a priest in 1976. Since ordination he has served in several missionary, congregational, and pastoral roles in African dioceses, most recently in DR Congo as apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Pointe-Noire, director of National Caritas, Migrant Pastoral Services, and the Justice and Peace Commission, and president of the national office for Social Communications.

- erected the Diocese of Gamboma with territory taken from the Diocese of Owando, Democratic Republic of the Congo, making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Brazzaville.

- appointed Fr. Urbain Ngassongo as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Gamboma (area 38,400, population 193,000, Catholics 110,000, priests 15, religious 14), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bishop-elect, previously secretary of the Episcopal Conference of DR Congo, was born in Kinshasa, DR Congo in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1996. Since ordination he has served in several academic and pastoral roles, most recently as pastoral administrator of Balvano in Potenza, Italy.

- appointed Msgr. Ettore Balestrero as apostolic nuncio to Colombia, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and assigning him the titular see of Vittoriana. The archbishop-elect, previously under-secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, was born in Genoa, Italy in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1993. On entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1996, he has served as a papal legate in Korea, Mongolia, Holland, and in the section of Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

- appointed Archbishop Leon Kalenga Badikebele as apostolic nuncio to El Salvador. Archbishop Badikebele, titular of Magnetum, was previously apostolic nuncio to Ghana.

- appointed Msgr. Miroslaw Adamczyk as apostolic nuncio to Libera, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and assigning him the titular see of Oticoli. The archbishop-elect was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1987. On entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1993, he has served in the apostolic nunciatures of Madagascar, India, Hungary, Belgium, South Africa, and Venezuela.

- appointed Msgr. Michael W. Banach as titular archbishop of Memfi, at the same time assigning him the office of apostolic nuncio. The archbishop-elect was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA and was ordained a priest in 1988. He previously served as Holy See permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (ONUDI), and to the Office of the United Nations in Vienna, Austria.

- appointed Msgr Brian Udaigwe as titular archbishop of Suelli, at the same time assigning him the office of apostolic nuncio. The archbishop-elect was born in Tiko, Southwest Province, Cameroon in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1992. On entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1994, he has served as a papal legate in Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Bulgaria, Thailand, and Great Britain.

- appointed Msgr. Antoine Camilleri as under-secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States. Msgr. Camilleri was previously a nunciature counsellor of the Secretariat of State.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 16 February 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father appointed:

Fr. Wieslaw Krotki, O.M.I., as bishop of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson (area 2,300,000, population 32,090, Catholics 8,570, priests 10, religious 2), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Istebna, now in the Silesia Province of southern Poland in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1990. Immediately after ordination for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Obra, Poland, he was sent to the missions in the Great North of Canada where he has served in several roles for the order and to various missions. From 1999 to 2005 he was superior of the Oblate Delegation of Hudson Bay and, since 2001, has been a missionary to the Inuit community of Igloolik. He succeeds Bishop Reynald Rouleau, O.M.I., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Fr. Titus Joseph Mdoe as auxiliary bishop of Dar-es-Salaam (area 40,000, population 5,329,000, Catholics 1,618,000, priests 262, religious 712), Tanzania. The bishop-elect was born in Lushoto, Tanga, Tanzania in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1986. He has served in several pastoral and administrative roles for the Diocese of Tanga, Tanzania, and from 2010 has been the deputy principal for Administration and Finance at Stella Maris Mtwara University College constituency of St. Augustine University in the Diocese of Mtwara, Tanzania. The Holy Father has assigned him the Titular See of Bahanna.

Archbishop Aldo Cavalli as apostolic nuncio to Malta. Archbishop Cavalli, titular of Vibo Valentia, was previously apostolic nuncio to Colombia.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 2 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed:

Bishop Joseph Effiong Ekuwem as archbishop of Calabar (area 7,754, population 1,192,031, Catholics 381,230, priests 74, religious 71), Nigeria. Archbishop Ekuwem, previously bishop of Uyo, Nigeria, succeeds Archbishop Joseph Edra Ukpo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Bishop Jesús Juárez Párraga, S.D.B., as archbishop of Sucre (area 49,975, population 630,000, Catholics 552,00, priests 92, permanent deacons 1, religious 236), Bolivia. Archbishop Párraga, previously bishop of El Alto, Bolivia, succeeds Archbishop Jesús Gervasio Pérez Rodríguez, O.F.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Bishop Jean Teyrouz, I.C.P.B., as bishop of the Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris of the Armenians (Catholics 30,200, priests 4, religious 6), France. Bishop Teyrouz, previously curial bishop of the Patriarchate of Cilicia of the Armenians, Lebanon, succeeds Bishop Gregoire Ghabroyan, I.C.P.B., whose whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same eparchy the Holy Father accepted in accordance with canon 210 para. 1–2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

Archbishop Michael August Blume, S.V.D., as apostolic nuncio to Uganda. Archbishop Blume, titular of Alexanum, was previously apostolic nuncio to Benin and Togo.

Fr. Percy Lorenzo Galvan Flores as prelate bishop of Corocoro (area 28,823, population 244,000, Catholics 214,000, priests 19, permanent deacons 2, religious 5), Bolivia. The bishop-elect was born in Tomas Frias, Potosi, Bolivia and was ordained a priest in 1991. He has served in several pastoral roles as well as having been rector of the San Cristobal Seminary of the Archdiocese of Sucre, Bolivia between 2001 and 2005 and vicar general of that same archdiocese between 2005 and 2007. Most recently he has been pastor of San Jose Parish, Sucre, director of the Ecclesiatical Museum, and a member of the Economic, Presbyteral, and Pastoral Councils of that archdiocese.

Msgr. Michel Aupetit as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Paris (area 105, population 2,233,818, Catholics 1,340,291, priests 1,353, permanent deacons 109, religious 2,831), France. The bishop-elect was born in Versailles, France in 1951 and was ordained a priest in 1995. Licensed in medicine by the faculty of Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital―with a specialization in bioethics, which he taught for nine years at the Henri Mondor Hospital of Creteil―he practised medicine for 12 years in Paris. Since ordination he has served in several pastoral roles and, since 2006, has been the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Paris. The Holy Father has assigned him the titular see of Maxita.

Fr. Eugenio Coter as vicar apostolic of Pando (area 86,261, population 208,867, Catholics 187,981, priests 24, religious 33), Bolivia. The bishop-elect was born in Gazzaniga, Italy in 1957 and was ordained a priest in 1981. Since ordination the bishop-elect has served as pastor to several Italian and Bolivian parishes as well as having been a member of a diocesan pastoral council, an episcopal delegate for social outreach and, most recently, the spiritual director of the San Luis Seminary of the Archdiocese of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The Holy Father has assigned him the titular see of Thibiuca. He succeeds Bishop Luis Morgan Casey, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same vicariate apostolic the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

HOLY SEE BECOMES EXTRA-REGIONAL OBSERVER OF CENTRAL AMERICAN INTEGRATION SYSTEM

Vatican City, 23 January 2013 (VIS) – According to information made public by the Press Office of the Holy See today, on Monday, 21 January, at the headquarters of the Central American Integration System (SICA) in San Salvador, El Salvador, an agreement was signed between the Holy See and SICA that makes the Holy See an extra-regional observer of that organization. The signatories were, for the Holy See, Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, apostolic nuncio to El Salvador and, for SICA, Juan Daniel Aleman, secretary general of SICA. Many ambassadors to the nations of the South American continent attended the ceremony.

Previously, the Ordinary Summit of heads of state and government of the countries of SICA, which took place in Managua, Nicaragua, this past December, had welcomed the Holy See's interest in participating in SICA as an extra-regional observer owing to the contribution that the Holy See and the Catholic Church offer to development in the social, cultural, and educational sectors as well as those of human rights and democratic security.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 17 January 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo as apostolic nuncio to Kenya as well as permanent observer to the United Nations Environment and Human Settlements Programs (UNEP and UN-Habitat). Archbishop Balvo, titular of Castello, was previously apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Vanuatu, and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean region.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 16 January 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Joseph Salvador Marino as apostolic nuncio to Malaysia and to East Timor and as apostolic delegate to Brunei. Archbishop Marino, titular of Natchitoches, was previously apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh.