OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 20, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Antonio Algora Hernando of Teruel y Albarracin, Spain as bishop of Ciudad Real (area 19,813, population 483,510, Catholics 480,910, priests 267, religious 718), Spain. He accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese presented by Bishop Rafael Torija de la Fuente, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Carlos German Mesa Ruiz, rector of the Major Seminary in Tunja, Colombia as bishop of Arauca (area 37,490, population 248,750, Catholics 202,000, priests 38, religious 62), Colombia. The bishop-elect was born in Duitama, Colombia 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1967.

On March 19 it was made public that the Holy Father:

- Erected the diocese of Port-Gentil (area 22,850, population 120,000, Catholics 68,000, priests 8, religious 18), Gabon, taking territory from the archdiocese of Libreville and making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan see. He appointed Bishop Mathieu Madega, auxiliary of Libreville, Gabon as the first bishop of the newly-erected diocese.

- Erected the apostolic prefecture (area 46,075, population 85,000, Catholics 245,000, priests 6, religious 6) of Makokou, Gabon, taking territory from the diocese of Oyem and entrusting to it the "Commissio sui iuris." He appointed Fr. Joseph Koerber, C.S.Sp. as the first apostolic prefect of the newly-erected prefecture. He was born in 1943 in Sierentz, France and was ordained a priest in 1972.

- Appointed Fr. Mathias Lee Yong-Hoon, professor at the Major Seminary of Suwon, as auxiliary bishop of Suwon (area 5,731, population 5,954,538, Catholics 505,601, priests 272, religious 1,243), Korea. The bishop-elect was born in 1951 in Kyoung-ghi, Korea and was ordained a priest in 1979.

- Appointed Bishop Nestor Hugo Navarro, auxiliary of Bahia Blanca, Argentina, as bishop of Alto Valle del Rio Negra (area 37,130, population 332,601, Catholics 262,211, priests 24, permanent deacons 1, religious 57), Argentina. He suceeds Bishop Jose Pedro Pozzi, S.D.B., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted upon having reached the age limit.

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