CHUNCHEON, South Korea, JAN. 28, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Lucas Kim Woon-hoe, auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Seoul, as head of the Diocese of Chuncheon, a Vatican communique reported today.
Bishop Woon-hoe, 65, succeeds Bishop John Chang-Yik, 76, who resigned for reasons of age.
Lucas Kim Woon-hoe was born in Seoul, and was ordained a priest for that diocese in 1973. He was ordained a bishop in 2002.
The Diocese of Chuncheon has some 75,702 Catholics served by 98 priests and 292 religious.
Also today, the Pope named Father João Noè Rodrigues, 54, pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Ackerville, South Africa, as the bishop of Tzaneen.
Born in Cape Town, he was ordained a priest in 1982 for the Diocese of Witbank.
The bishop-elect succeeds Bishop Hugh Patrick Slattery, 75, whose resignation was accepted by the Pontiff today.
The Diocese of Tzaneen has around 50,000 Catholics, with 27 priests, 4 permanent deacons and 55 religious.
Auxiliaries
The Vatican communiqué reported also the Holy Father’s appointments of two auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Father Eusebius Alfred Nzigilwa, 43, former rector of St. Mary’s major seminary, is one of the new auxiliaries.
The other new auxiliary is Father Salutaris Melchior Libena, 46, who has been serving in the Diocese of Mahenge as a professor and spiritual director at St. Paul’s major seminary.
The Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam is based in Tanzania’s largest city, and numbers some 5 million people. Around 1.5 of these are Catholics, with 193 priests and 737 religious. The Archdiocese is currently led by Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, 53.
