OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 30 April 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- appointed Rev. Jose Roberto Fortes Palau and Rev. Carlos Lema Garcia as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Sao Paulo (area 655, population 6,633,912, Catholics 4,776,416, priests 995, religious 1,316), Brazil.

Bishop-elect Fortes Palau was born in Jacaref, Brazil in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1993. He holds a licentiate in spiritual theology from the “Teresianum” Pontifical Institute of Spirituality, Rome, and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has served in the following pastoral roles in the city of Sao Jose dos Campos: vicar of the “Sant'Ana” parish, priest of the “Sao Jose” parish, rector of the seminary of theology of the diocese of Sao Jose dos Campos, vicar of the parish of “Sao Bento”, and vicar general of the diocese. He is currently priest of the “Santo Agostino” parish of Sao Jose dos Campos.

Bishop-elect Lema Garcia was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1985. He holds a doctorate in dogmatic theology and a degree in moral theology from the Holy Cross Pontifical University, Rome, as well as a degree in law from the State University of Sao Paulo. He is a member of the personal prelature of Opus Dei, and has served in the following pastoral roles: chaplain of the Centro Universitario do Itaim in Sao Paulo, chaplain of the CEAC in Brasilia, chaplain of the “Mirador” cultural centre in Porto Alegre, and vicar secretary of the delegation of the prelature in Brazil. He is currently spiritual director of Opus Dei in Brazil.