OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 3, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Edmond Carmody of Tyler, U.S.A., as bishop of Corpus Christi (area 44,774, population 808,146, Catholics 366,500, priests 154, permanent deacons 66, religious 405), U.S.A.

- Erected the diocese of Kolda (area 16,011, population 1,185,340, Catholics 81,333, priests 20, religious 19), Senegal, with territory taken from the diocese of Ziguinchor, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Dakar. He appointed Fr. Jean-Pierre Bassene of the clergy of Ziguinchor, secretary of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (CERAO), as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born at Esyl, Senegal, in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1980.

- Appointed Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano as pontifical legate at celebrations for the fifth centenary of the evangelization of Brazil. The event will take place at Porto Seguro, Brazil, on April 26.

NER; ECE; NA;...;...;CARMODY; BASSENE; SODANO;VIS;20000203;Word: 150;