HOLY SEE AND REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC TIES

Vatican City, 22 February 2013 (VIS) – The Holy See and the Republic of South Sudan, desirous of promoting bonds of mutual friendship, have decided by common accord to establish diplomatic relations at the level of Apostolic Nunciature on the part of the Holy See and of Embassy on the part of the Republic of South Sudan, according to information provided in a communique today.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 22 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

- appointed Fr. Miguel Angel Olaverri Arroniz, S.D.B., as bishop of Pointe-Noire (area 13,500, population 2,384,000, Catholics 1,392,000, priests 76, religious 89), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bishop-elect was born in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain in 1948 and was ordained a priest in 1976. Since ordination he has served in several missionary, congregational, and pastoral roles in African dioceses, most recently in DR Congo as apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Pointe-Noire, director of National Caritas, Migrant Pastoral Services, and the Justice and Peace Commission, and president of the national office for Social Communications.

- erected the Diocese of Gamboma with territory taken from the Diocese of Owando, Democratic Republic of the Congo, making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Brazzaville.

- appointed Fr. Urbain Ngassongo as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Gamboma (area 38,400, population 193,000, Catholics 110,000, priests 15, religious 14), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bishop-elect, previously secretary of the Episcopal Conference of DR Congo, was born in Kinshasa, DR Congo in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1996. Since ordination he has served in several academic and pastoral roles, most recently as pastoral administrator of Balvano in Potenza, Italy.

- appointed Msgr. Ettore Balestrero as apostolic nuncio to Colombia, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and assigning him the titular see of Vittoriana. The archbishop-elect, previously under-secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, was born in Genoa, Italy in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1993. On entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1996, he has served as a papal legate in Korea, Mongolia, Holland, and in the section of Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

- appointed Archbishop Leon Kalenga Badikebele as apostolic nuncio to El Salvador. Archbishop Badikebele, titular of Magnetum, was previously apostolic nuncio to Ghana.

- appointed Msgr. Miroslaw Adamczyk as apostolic nuncio to Libera, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and assigning him the titular see of Oticoli. The archbishop-elect was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1987. On entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1993, he has served in the apostolic nunciatures of Madagascar, India, Hungary, Belgium, South Africa, and Venezuela.

- appointed Msgr. Michael W. Banach as titular archbishop of Memfi, at the same time assigning him the office of apostolic nuncio. The archbishop-elect was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA and was ordained a priest in 1988. He previously served as Holy See permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (ONUDI), and to the Office of the United Nations in Vienna, Austria.

- appointed Msgr Brian Udaigwe as titular archbishop of Suelli, at the same time assigning him the office of apostolic nuncio. The archbishop-elect was born in Tiko, Southwest Province, Cameroon in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1992. On entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1994, he has served as a papal legate in Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Bulgaria, Thailand, and Great Britain.

- appointed Msgr. Antoine Camilleri as under-secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States. Msgr. Camilleri was previously a nunciature counsellor of the Secretariat of State.