OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 3, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Angel San Casimiro Fernandez O.A.R. of Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica, as bishop of Alajuela (area 2,381, population 662,520, Catholics 551,100, priests 101, permanent deacons 1, religious 83), Costa Rica. He succeeds Bishop Jose Rafael Barquero Arce, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Daniel Eugene Hurley of Port Pirie, Australia, as bishop of Darwin (area 1,352,212, population 202,793, Catholics 15,072, priests 28, permanent deacons 3, religious 97), Australia. He succeeds Bishop Edmund J. P. Collins M.S.C., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Francesco Lambiasi, general ecclesiastical assistant of Italian Catholic Action, as bishop of Rimini (area 781, population 326,435, Catholics 303,435, priests 220, permanent deacons 23, religious 557), Italy. He succeeds Bishop Mariano De Nicolo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Bishop Luis Adriano Piedrahita Sandoval, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Cali, Colombia, as bishop of Apartado (area 21,000, population 516,000, Catholics 362,000, priests 62, religious 108), Colombia.
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUL 3, 2007 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany.
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POPE TO TRAVEL TO AUSTRIA FROM SEPTEMBER 7 TO 9

VATICAN CITY, JUL 3, 2007 (VIS) - Benedict XVI is due to make an apostolic trip to Austria from September 7 to 9, for the 850th anniversary of the foundation of the Shrine of Mariazell.

  The visit to the Marian shrine located in the foothills of the Austrian Alps, the most popular in central Europe, will take place on September 8, Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin.

  It will be the Holy Father's second apostolic trip outside Italy of 2007, following his journey to Brazil in May when he visited Sao Paulo and Aparecida for the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean.

  The official program of the Austria trip is to be published soon.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 2, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Alaminos, Philippines presented by Bishop Jesus A. Cabrera, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Marlo M. Peralta.

 - Appointed Fr. Otto Separy, chancellor of the diocese of Wewak, Papua New Guinea, as auxiliary of the diocese of Aitape (area 18,200, population 98,800, Catholics 73,300, priests 26, religious 102), Papua New Guinea. The bishop-elect was born in Kubila, Papua New Guinea, in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1991.

  On Saturday, June 30, it was made public that he:

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Zrenjanin, Serbia, presented by Bishop Laszlo Huzsvar, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Fidenza, Italy, presented by Bishop Maurizio Galli, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

 - Appointed Fr. Domenico Cornacchia of the clergy of the diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti, Italy, pastor of the parish of the Blessed Redeemer, as bishop of Lucera-Troia (area 1,337, population 71,031, Catholics 70,000, priests 81, permanent deacons 5, religious 114), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Altamura in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1976. He succeeds Bishop Francesco Zerrillo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Msgr. Michael Mulhall, vicar general of Peterborough, Canada, as bishop of Pembroke (area 20,000, population 132,000, Catholics 65,825, priests 68, permanent deacons 7, religious 131), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Pembroke in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1989.

 - Appointed Bishop Peter Remigius of Kumbakonam, India as bishop of Kottar (area 1,665, population 1,738,250, Catholics 472,455, priests 258, religious 724), India.

 - Appointed Msgr. Julius Sullan Tonel, vicar general of the archdiocese of Davao, Philippines, as bishop of the territorial prelature of Ipil (area 4,850, population 622,000, Catholics 406,000, priests 35, religious 47), Philippines. The bishop-elect was born in Davao City in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1980.

 - Appointed Fr. Castor Oswaldo Azuaje Perez O.C.D., delegate general for Venezuela of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Maracaibo (area 11,365, population 2,045,000, Catholics 1,898,000, priests 128, permanent deacons 10, religious 379), Venezuela. The bishop-elect was born in Maracaibo in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1975.
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