OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 22, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Antonio Muniz Fernandes O. Carm., of Guarabira, Brazil, as archbishop of Maceio (area 8,545, population 1,469,000, Catholics 955,000, priests 61, permanent deacons 24, religious 240), Brazil. The archbishop-elect was born in Princesa Isabel, Brazil in 1952, he was ordained a priest in 1980 and consecrated a bishop in 1998. He succeeds Archbishop Jose Carlos Melo C.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Paulo Sergio Machado of Ituiutaba, Brazil, as bishop of Sao Carlos (area 13,056, population 1,029,854, Catholics 751,793, priests 119, permanent deacons 22, religious 171), Brazil.
NER:RE/.../MUNIZ:MELO:MACHADO                    VIS 20061122 (120)