OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 28 NOV 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

 - Fr. Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando, episcopal vicar for Tamil faithful in the archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Fr. Sampathawaduge Maxwell Grenville Silva, headmaster of the St. Thomas College at Kotte, as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Colombo (area 3,838, population 5,891,000, Catholics 634,202, priests 588, religious 1,502). Bishop-elect Fernando was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1973. He studied in Rome and the U.S.A., and has worked as pastor, and as a professor and later rector of the National Seminary of Kandy. Bishop-elect Silva was born in Willorawatte, Sri Lanka in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1981. He has worked as pastor and as a school teacher.

  On Saturday 26 November it was made public that he appointed:

 - Msgr. Charles John Brown, official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as apostolic nuncio to Ireland, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in New York, U.S.A. in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1989. Before coming to Rome he worked as parochial vicar in the parish of St. Brendan in the Bronx. In September 2009 he was appointed as adjunct secretary of the International Theological Commission.

 - Msgr. Marek Solczynski, nunciature counsellor, as apostolic nuncio to Georgia, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Stawiszyn, Poland in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1987. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1993, since when he has served in Paraguay, Russia, U.S.A., Turkey, Czech Republic and Spain.

 - Fr. Antonio De Luca C.SS.R., pro episcopal vicar for consecrated life in the archdiocese of Naples, Italy, as bishop of Teggiano-Policastro (area 1,986, population 117,200, Catholics 116,400, priests 81, permanent deacons 3, religious 107), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Torre del Greco, Italy in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1981. He has worked in various offices for his order including provincial secretary for formation and provincial superior for the Italian Region of Campania, and has been active in missionary work in Madagascar and Argentina.

 - Bishop Johannes Wihelmus Maria Liesen, auxiliary of 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, as bishop of Breda (area 3,368, population 1,114,000, Catholics 491,323, priests 251, permanent deacons 25, religious 974), Netherlands.
NEA:NN:NER/                            VIS 20111128 (400)