OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 24, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Erected the diocese of Malindi (area 33,254, population 539,000, Catholics 20,000, priests 15, religious 19), Kenya, with territory taken from the diocese of Garissa and from part of the archdiocese of Mombasa, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Mombasa. He appointed Fr. Francis Baldacchino O.F.M. Cap., vicar general of Garissa, as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Marsa, Malta, in 1936 and ordained a priest in 1961.

- Appointed Archbishop Blasco Francisco Collaco, apostolic nuncio in South Africa and Namibia, as apostolic nuncio in Lesotho and Swaziland.

- Appointed Fr. Johannes Gerardus Maria van Burgsteden S.S.S., rector of the Begijnhof chapel and director of pastoral care in Amsterdam city center, as auxiliary to the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Haarlem (area 2,912, population 2,628,121, Catholics 539,561, priests 382, permanent deacons 13, religious 1,576), Netherlands. The bishop-elect was born in Achterveld, Netherlands, in 1935 and ordained a priest in 1964.

- Appointed as consultors of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church: Bishops George Punnakottil of Kothamangalam of the Syro-Malabars, India; Leopoldo S. Tumulak of Tagbilaran, Philippines and Lubomyr Husar M.S.U., auxiliary of the major archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians. Frs. Thomas O'Caoimh, member of the National Heritage Council, Ireland and Kevin Lutz, curator of the diocesan museum in Columbus, U.S.A. Pier Francesco Grossi of Rome; Antonio Paolucci, superintendent of the artistic heritage of Florence, Italy; Mario Serio, director general of the ministry of cultural patrimony and cultural activities, Italy; Luciano Orsini, professor of the Bellini Institute of Art in Valenza, Italy; Claudio Strinati, superintendent of the artistic patrimony of Rome and Jeanette Sandford, archivist of the diocese of Kokstad, South Africa.

ECE; NER; NN; NEA; NA;...;...;...;VIS;20000626;Word: 290;