OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 17, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Denis Theurillat of the clergy of Basel (area 12,585, population 3,000,000, Catholics 1,120,000, priests 888, permanent deacons 68, religious 2,582), Switzerland, and episcopal vicar for the Francophone part of the same diocese, as auxiliary bishop of that diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Epauvillers, Switzerland, in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1976.

On Saturday April 15, it was made public that he:

- Erected the diocese of Orizaba (area 2,012, population 555,302, priests 56, religious 185), Mexico, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Jalapa, making it a suffragan of that same metropolitan church. He appointed Fr. Hipolito Reyes Larios, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Jalapa and rector of the interdiocesan seminary of Jalapa, as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Ciudad Mendoza, Mexico, in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1973.

- Erected the diocese of Cordoba (area 4,118, population 627,890, priests 50, religious 164), Mexico, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Jalapa, making it a suffragan of that same metropolitan church. He appointed Fr. Eduardo Porfirio Patino Leal, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Monterrey, Mexico, and pastor and head of studies at the archdiocesan seminary, as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Monterrey in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1977.

- Appointed Bishop Michel Dubost, military ordinary for France, as bishop of Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes (area 1,819, population 1,202,000, Catholics 846,000, priests 179, permanent deacons 30, religious 742), France. He succeeds Bishop Guy Herbulot, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, on having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Cardinal Raul Francisco Primatesta, archbishop emeritus of Cordoba, Argentina, as his special envoy at the closing celebrations for the 4th National Eucharistic Congress of Uruguay. The event is due to take place at Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, on October 15.

- Appointed Msgr. Massimo Boarotto, official at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, as bureau chief in the same congregation.
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