OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 19, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Lang Son and Cao Bang, apostolic administrator "sede plena" of the archdiocese of Hanoi, as archbishop of Hanoi (area 7,000, population 6,000,000, Catholics 304,000, priests 49, religious 219), Vietnam. He succeeds Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Virginio Domingo Bressanelli S.C.I., superior of the Dehonian Fathers' theological institute in Argentina, as bishop of Comodoro Rivadavia (area 234,000, population 412,912, Catholics 345,900, priests 44, religious 105), Argentina. The bishop-elect was in Berabevu, Argentina, in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1966. He succeeds Bishop Pedro Luis Ronchino S.D.B., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Bejoy Nicephorus D'Cruze O.M.I., superior of the O.M.I. delegation in Bangladesh and professor in the major seminary of Dhaka, as bishop of Khulna (area 28,236, population 15,000,000, Catholics 28,665, priests 39, religious 109), Bangladesh. The bishop-elect was born in Tuital, Bangladesh, in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1987. He succeeds Bishop Michael Atul D'Roxario C.S.C., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Francois Xavier Le Van Hong, pastor responsible for theological aggiornamento of priests, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Hue (area 12,227, population 2,007,300, Catholics 64,042, priests 88, religious 693), Vietnam.
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