OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 16 APR 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Fr. Benedito Goncalves dos Santos of the clergy of the diocese of Paracatu, Brazil, vicar general and pastor of the cathedral, as bishop of Presidente Prudente (area 13,251, population 527,233, Catholics 487,500, priests 49, religious 58), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Paracatu in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1990. He succeeds Bishop Jose Maria Liborio Camino Saracho, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Charles Hammawa of the clergy of Yola, Nigeria, as bishop of Jalingo (area 61,368, population 3,097,000, Catholics 279,147, priests 45, religious 28), Nigeria. The bishop-elect was born in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1987.

 - Appointed Fr. Felix Femi Ajakaye of the clergy of Ekiti, Nigeria, pastor of St. Michael Catholic church in Opopogboro, as coadjutor of Ekiti (area 5,700, population 2,384,000, Catholics 331,275, priests 60, religious 62), Nigeria. The bishop-elect was born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1987.
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