OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 21 DEC 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, apostolic nuncio to Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Dominica, Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Guyana, and apostolic delegate in the Antilles, also as apostolic nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.

 - Appointed Bishop Jaime Vieira Rocha of Campina Grande, Brazil, as metropolitan archbishop of Natal (area 25,059, population 2,082,000, Catholics 1,738,000, priests 154, permanent deacons 41, religious 243), Brazil. He succeeds Archbishop Matias Patricio de Macedo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Fr. Joao Justino de Medeiros Silva of the clergy of the archdiocese of Juiz de Fora, rector of the "Santo Antonio" archdiocesan seminary, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Belo Horizonte (area 7,240, population 4,767,000, Catholics 3,411,312, priests 645, religious 2,007), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Juiz de Fora in 1966 and ordained a priest in 1992. He has worked as pastor in a number of parishes and is a member of the presbyteral council and of the college of consultors.

 - Appointed Fr. Rubens Sevilha O.C.D., provincial of the Carmelite Province of "Sao Jose" and pastor of the parish of "Santa Terezinha" in the archdiocese of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Msgr. Joaquim Wladimir Lopes Dias of the clergy of the diocese of Jundai, Brazil, vicar general, as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Vitoria (area 7,234, population 3,210,000, Catholics 2,010,000, priests 138, religious 264), Brazil. Bishop-elect Sevilha was born in Tarabai, Brazil in 1959 and made his perpetual religious profession in 1984. He studied in Brazil and Rome and has held various offices in his order and been active in pastoral care. Bishop-elect Lopes Dias was born in Cafelandia, Brazil in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1997. He has worked as pastor in a number of parishes and as vice rector and later rector of the diocesan seminary.
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