OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 14 June 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

   - appointed Bishop Jan Franciszek Watroba as bishop of Rzeszow (area 6,000, population 611,208, Catholics 598,152, priests 722, religious 451), Poland. Bishop Watroba, previously auxiliary of Częstochowa and titular of Bisica, serves as a member of the Commission for the Clergy and delegate for the Pastoral Care of Women in the Conference of the Polish Episcopate. He succeeds Bishop Kazimierz Gorny, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

   - appointed Fr. Paolo Selvadagi as auxiliary of the Diocese of Rome (area 850, population 2,843,918, Catholics 2,333,700, priests 4,871, permanent deacons 116, religious 1,485), Italy, assigning him the Titular See of Salpi. The bishop-elect was born in Rome, Italy, in 1946 and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome in 1972. Since ordination he has served in many administrative, pastoral, and academic, as well as parochial and diocesan level roles. Most recently, since 2012, he has been the pastor of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish and a member of the College of Consultors. He was also named a chaplain of His Holiness in 1988 and a prelate of honour of His Holiness in 2009.

   - appointed Fr. Ansgar Puff as auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Cologne (area 6,181, population 5,152,000, Catholics 2,080,656, priests 1,014, permanent deacons 312, religious 1,897), Germany, assigning him the Titular See of Gordo. The bishop-elect was born in Monchengladbach, Germany in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1987. Since ordination he has served in several pastoral and diocesan level roles, most recently, since 2012, as director of the “Care of Souls – Personnel” department of the archdiocesan curia. He was named chaplain of His Holiness in 2012.