OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 24, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Oscar Gonzalez Villa of the clergy of the archdiocese of Manizales, Colombia, rector of the major seminary of "Nuestra Senora del Rosario," as bishop of Girardota (area 2,445, population 203,000, Catholics 183,000, priests 56, religious 99), Colombia. The bishop-elect was born in Alcala, Colombia in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1973.

  On Saturday, April 22, it was made public that he:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Ouesso, Republic of the Congo, presented by Bishop Herve Itoua, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Okigwe, Nigeria, presented by Bishop Anthony Ekezia Ilonu, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Solomon Amanchukwu Amatu.

 - Appointed Bishop Antonio Augusto dos Santos Marto of Viseu, Portugal, as bishop of Leiria-Fatima (area 1,700, population 267,000, Catholics 256,000, priests 154, religious 546), Portugal. He succeeds Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Msgr. Ignazio Sanna of the clergy of the diocese of Nuoro, Italy, professor and pro-rector of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, as metropolitan archbishop of Oristano (area 3,112, population 148,915, Catholics 148,067, priests 122, permanent deacons 6, religious 362), Italy. The archbishop-elect was born in Orune, Italy in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1967. He succeeds Archbishop Pier Giuliano Tiddia, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Beatus Kinyaiya O.F.M. Cap., former provincial superior for Tanzania, as bishop of Mbulu (area 1,605, population 900,000, Catholics 242,698, priests 58, religious 175), Tanzania. The bishop-elect was born in Shimbwe, Tanzania in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1989.

 - Appointed Bishop Sebastiano Sanguinetti of Ozieri, Italy, as bishop of Tempio-Ampurias (area 2,695, population 145,400, Catholics 144,000, priests 79, permanent deacons 2, religious 117), Italy.

 - Appointed Msgr. Gianfranco De Luca of the clergy of the diocese of Teramo-Atri, Italy, pastor and head of youth pastoral care, as bishop of Termoli-Larino (area 1,424, population 106,500, Catholics 105,850, priests 69, permanent deacons 8, religious 109), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Atri in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1974.

 - Appointed Msgr. Jose Maria Ortega Trinidad, pastor of the cathedral "San Vicente Martir" in San Vicente de Canete, Peru, as bishop-prelate of the territorial prelature of Juli (area 17,427, population 455,000, Catholics 404,000, priests 13, religious 37), Peru. The bishop-elect was born in Nava, Peru in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1978.
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