Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 21 March 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- appointed Bishop Stanislav Stolarik, auxiliary of Kosice, Slovakia, as bishop of Roznava (area 7,000, population 389,400, Catholics 223,100, priests 120, religious 95), Slovakia. He succeeds Bishop Vladimir Filo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- appointed Bishop Charles Phillip Richard Moth, formerly military ordinary for Great Britain, as bishop of Arundel and Brighton (area 4,998, population 3,225,000, Catholics 198,200, priests 192, permanent deacons 36, religious 499), England.

- appointed Msgr. Javier Gerardo Roman Arias as bishop of Limon (area 9,188, population 323,000, Catholics 263,453, priests 23, religious 36), Costa Rica. The bishop-elect was born in Alajuela, Costa Rica in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1987. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including deputy priest and parish priest in various parishes of the archdiocese of San Jose de Costa Rica. He is currently adjunct secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica, parish priest of the “Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe” parish, and bursar of the archdiocese of San Jose de Costa Rica.

- accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archieparchy of Istanbul of the Armenians, Turkey, presented by Bishop Hovhannes Tcholakian, upon reaching the age limit.

- confirmed the appointment of Bishop Levon Boghos Zekiyan, apostolic administrator of the archieparchy of Istanbul of the Armenians, Turkey, as archbishop of the same see.

- accepted the resignation from the office of apostolic administrator presented by Bishop Nechan Karakeheyan of the Ordinariate for Armenian Catholics resident in Greece, upon reaching the age limit.

- appointed Rev. Hovsep Bezazian as apostolic administrator of the Ordinariate for Armenian Catholics resident in Greece, without episcopal rank.

- Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, formerly apostolic nuncio in Malta and Libya, as apostolic nuncio in the Netherlands.