OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 9 MAR 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Guire Poulard of Jacmel, Haiti, as bishop of Les Cayes (area 4,649, population 1,500,000, Catholics 975,000, priests 94, permanent deacons 2, religious 241), Haiti. He succeeds Bishop Jean Alix Verrier, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

  On Saturday 7 March it was made public that he appointed:

 - Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla of Cartagena, Spain, as bishop of Alcala de Henares (area 2,586, population 709,298, Catholics 653,141, priests 186, permanent deacons 4, religious 422), Spain.

 - As members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches: His Beatitude Fouad Twal, patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins; Metropolitan Archbishop Jan Babjak S.J. of Presov for Catholics of Byzantine rite, Slovak Republic; Metropolitan Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel C.M. of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, and Metropolitan Archbishop Basil Myron Schott O.F.M. of Pittsburgh of the Byzantines, U.S.A.

 - Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, as his special envoy to the closing celebrations of the Jubilee Year marking the seventh centenary of veneration of Our Lady of Europe. The event is due to take place in Gibraltar on 5 May.
NER:RE:NA/.../...                            VIS 20090309 (220)