OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 24, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Msgr. Rainer Woelki, director of the "Collegium Albertinum" in Bonn, Germany, as auxiliary of Cologne (area 6,181, population 5,300,000, priests 1365, religious 2,812), Germany. The bishop-elect was born in 1956 in Cologne-Muhlheim, Germany and was ordained a priest in 1985. The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the same archdiocese presented by Bishop Klaus Dick upon having reached the age limit.
On Saturday February 21, it was made public that the Holy Father:

- Appointed Msgr. Francisco Chimoio, O.F.M. Cap., of Pemba, Mozambique, as metropolitan archbishop of Maputo (area 25,238, population 3,859,000, Catholics 476,000, priests 107, religious 307), Mozambique. He accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese presented by Cardinal Alexandre Jose Maria dos Santos, O.F.M., upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Ernest Sambou, rector of the Catholic Institute of Western Africa in Abidjan, Ivory Coast as bishop of Saint-Louis du Senegal (area 73,315, population 1,545,238, Catholics 4,012, priests 16, religious 35), Senegal. The bishop-elect was born in 1947 in Cadjinol, Senegal and was ordained a priest in 1975. The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese presented by Bishop Pierre Sagna, C.S.Sp., in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Fr. Georges M. Saad Abi Younes, O.L.M., superior of the Mission of the Lebanese Maronite Order and pastor of the Maronite Community in Mexico City, Mexico, as bishop of the eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico of the Maronites. The bishop-elect was born in Hammana, Lebanon in 1948 and was ordained a priest in 1977.

- Appointed Cardinal Ivan Dias, archbishop of Bombay, India as his special envoy for the celebrations scheduled to take place in Tirana, Albania on April 25, 2003 for the 10th anniversary of his historic papal trip to the same country.

- Appointed Archbishop Karl-Josef Rauber, apostolic nuncio in Hungary and Moldova, as apostolic nuncio in Belgium and Luxembourg.

- Appointed Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, apostolic nuncio in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Republic of Macedonia, as apostolic nuncio in Bulgaria.

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