Tuesday, July 21, 2015

In memoriam


Vatican City, 21 July 2015 (VIS) – The following prelates have died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Tadeusz Jozef Zawistowski, auxiliary emeritus of Lomza, Poland, on 1 June at the age of 85.

- Bishop Thomas Flynn, emeritus of Achonry, Ireland, on 2 June at the age of 83.

- Bishop Mawule Kouto, emeritus of Atakpame, Togo, on 5 June at the age of 68.

- Bishop Francisco Domingo Barbosa Da Silveira, emeritus of Minas, Uruguay, on 17 June at the age of 71.

- His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, Lebanon, on 25 June at the age of 75.

- Bishop Victor de la Pena Perez, O.F.M., apostolic vicar emeritus of Requena, Peru, on 1 July at the age of 81.

- Bishop Luigi Martella, of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, Italy, on 6 July at the age of 67.

-Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, archbishop emeritus of Bologna, Italy, on 11 July at the age of 87.

- Bishop Omar Felix Colome, emeritus of Cruz del Eje, Argentina, on 12 July at the age of 82.

Other Pontifical Acts


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

- accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Los Angeles, U.S.A., presented by Bishop Gerald E. Wilkerson upon reaching the age limit.

- appointed Msgr. Joseph V. Brennan, Msgr. David G. O'Connell, and Fr. Robert E. Barron as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Los Angeles (area 14,019, population 11,852,427, Catholics 4,276,930, priests 1,111, permanent deacons 383, religious 2,229), U.S.A.

Bishop-elect Brennan was born in Van Nuys, U.S.A. in 1954 and was ordained a priest in 1980. He has served in a number of pastoral and administrative roles in the archdiocese of Los Angeles, including parish vicar, parish priest, chaplain, member of the presbyteral council, vicar general and moderator of the curia. In 2005 he was named Chaplain of His Holiness.

Bishop-elect O'Connell was born in Cork, Ireland in 1953 and was ordained a priest in 1979. He has served in a number of pastoral and administrative roles in the archdiocese of Los Angeles, including parish vicar, parish priest, dean and member of the presbyteral council and parish administrator. In 1999 he was named Prelate of Honour.

Bishop-elect Barron was born in Chicago, U.S.A. in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1986. He holds a masters in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, a licentiate in theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Chicago, and a doctorate in theology from the Institut Catholique, Paris, France. He has served in a number of pastoral and academic roles, including parish vicar, professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, founder and executive director of the Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College in Rome and Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He is currently rector and president of the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

- appointed Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia, as his special envoy to the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Shrine of the Miraculous Madonna of Sinj in the archdiocese of Spalato-Makarska, Croatia, to be held on 15 August.