VATICAN CITY, 10 FEB 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Fr. Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana of the clergy of Bangkok, Thailand, director of the diocesan catechesis centre and secretary of the episcopal commission for catechesis, as bishop of Chiang Mai (area 89,683, population 5,749,882, Catholics 48,927, priests 74, religious 140), Thailand. The bishop-elect was born in Sam Saem, Thailand in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1981. He succeeds Bishop Joseph Sangval Surasarang, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Fr. Marcellin Randriamamonjy of the clergy of Ambositra, Madagascar, former rector of the major inter-diocesan seminary of Vohitsoa, as bishop of Fenoarivo-Atsiranana (area 25,000, population 804,000, Catholics 150,000, priests 34, religious 56), Madagascar. The bishop-elect was born in Sandrandahy, Madagascar in 1963 and ordained a priest in 1992.
- Appointed Fr. Ignatius Loyola Mascarenhas of the clergy of Delhi, India, rector of the preparatory regional seminary at Kauli, as bishop of Simla-Chandigarh (area 83,560, population 20,134,365, Catholics 13,800, priests 98, religious 352), India. The bishop-elect was born in Delhi in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1977.
- Appointed Fr. Mario Fiandri S.D.B., director of the Salesian theologate in Guatemala, as apostolic vicar of El Peten (area 36,000, population 701,000, Catholics 522,000, priests 20, religious 49), Guatemala. The bishop-elect was born in Arborea, Italy in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1974.
- Appointed Fr. Augustinus Kim Jong Soo, rector of the major seminary of the diocese of Daejon, Korea, as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 9,137, population 3,476,805, Catholics 225,560, priests 225, religious 546). The bishop-elect was born in Taehung-dong, Korea in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1989.
- Appointed Msgr. Binay Kandulna of the clergy of Khunti, India, collaborator of the apostolic nunciature in New Delhi, India, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Ranchi (area 5,299, population 2,993,000, Catholics 116,758, priests 232, religious 1,094), India. The bishop-elect was born in Gondra, India in 1964 and ordained a priest in 1994.
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