OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 21, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Archbishop Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, military ordinary of Ecuador, as metropolitan archbishop of Quito (area 10,000, population 2,250,000, Catholics 2,010,000, priests 455, permanent deacons 4, religious 2521), Ecuador. He succeeds Cardinal Antonio Jose Gonzalez Zumarraga whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted upon having reached the age limit.

- Gave his blessing to the erection of the eparchy of Guizeh, Egypt, with territory taken from the Patriarchal Eparchy of Alexandria of the Catholic Copts, effected by the Synod of Bishops of the Coptic Catholic Church on September 29, 2002. He gave his blessing at the same time to the transfer of Bishop Andraos Salama, auxiliary of Alexandria of the Copts, to the new eparchial see of Guizeh.
- Appointed Bishop George Haddad, S.M.S.P., apostolic exarch for the Greek Melkite Catholics resident in Argentina, as apostolic administrator "sede plena et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the Greek Melkite Archieparchy of Akka, Haifa, Nazareth and all of Galilea.

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