OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 4, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Antonio Javellana Ledesma S.J., bishop-prelate of Ipil, Philippines, as archbishop of Cagayan de Oro (area 3,799, population 1,284,478, Catholics 1,071,399, priests 130, religious 218), Philippines. The archbishop-elect was born in Iloilo City, Philippines in 1943, ordained a priest in 1973 and consecrated a bishop in 1996. He succeeds Archbishop Jesus B. Tuquib, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Bernardo Vastres Florence S.D.B., provincial inspector of the Salesians in Chile, as bishop of Punta Arenas (area 112,310, population 150,826, Catholics 120,208, priests 24, permanent deacons 8, religious 45), Chile. The bishop-elect was born in Santiago de Chile in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1982. He succeeds Bishop Tomas Osvaldo Gonzalez Morales S.D.B., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese, the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

 - Appointed Fr. George Beluso Rimando of the clergy of the diocese of Tagum, Philippines, administrator of the quasi-parish of the Assumption in Merville, Tagum, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Davao (area 2,615, population 1,369,913, Catholics 1,109,498, priests 128, religious 462), Philippines. The bishop-elect was born in Tagum in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1980.

 - Appointed Sabatino Napolitano, vice-director of Economic Services of the Governorate of Vatican City State, as director of the same office for a five-year period.

 - Appointed Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, as a member of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.

 - Appointed Fr. Andreas Thiermeyer, rector of the 'Collegium Orientale' in Eichstatt, Germany, as a consultor to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

 - Appointed Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, Spain, as his special envoy to solemn celebrations due to be held in Javier, Spain, on April 7, 2006, to mark the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier.
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