Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 17 December 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:

- Msgr. Adelar Baruffi as bishop of Cruz Alta (area 16,790, population 401,000, Catholics 321,000, priests 32, religious 50), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Garibaldi, Brazil in 1969 and was ordained a priest in 1995. He studied philosophy at the University of Caxias do Sul and theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, and holds a licentiate in theological anthropology and spiritual theology from the “Teresianum” Pontifical Theological Faculty, Rome. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including spiritual assistant, coordinator of formators and rector of the minor seminary and the preparatory course, rector of the major seminary, coordinator of diocesan presbyteral pastoral ministry, parish vicar and member of the council of presbyters and the College of Consultors. He is currently parish vicar of the “Santo Antonio” parish in Bento Goncalves.

- Fr. Onecimo Alberton as bishop of Rio do Sul (area 8,909, population 321,000, Catholics 263,000, priests 64, religious 212), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Orleans, Brazil in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1992. He studied philosophy at the Universidade do Sul, Tubarao, and theology at the Theological Institute of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, and has served in a number of roles, including: parish priest of the “Nossa Senhora da Natividade” parish, Cocal do Sul Criciuma; formator in the minor and major seminaries of Criciuma; rector of the “Bom Pastor” seminary, Florianopolis. He is currently parish priest of the “Sao Paulo Apostolo” parish in Criciuma. He succeeds Bishop Augustinho Petry, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- Msgr. Jean-Marc Eychenne as bishop of Pamiers (area 4,903, population 154,546, Catholics 107,400, priests 46, permanent deacons 13, religious 80), France. The bishop-elect was born in Pamiers, France in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1982. He holds a baccalaureate from the Faculty of Theology of Milan, and has served in a number of roles, including: master of novices of the Communaute Saint-Martin, teacher at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences and formator of seminarians at the Communaute Saint-Martin in Genoa; parish vicar of Madeleine in Orleans-Checy, parish priest in the “Saint-Yves de la Source” parish and episcopal vicar for the pastoral area of Val-de-Loire et Sologne. He is currently vicar general of Orleans, France.