SAINT AUGUSTINE, Florida, MAY 2, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Felipe de Jesús Estévez of Miami, Florida, as bishop of Saint Augustine.
Bishop Estévez, 65, succeeds Bishop Victor Galeone, 75, who retired for reasons of age, the Vatican announced Wednesday.
Born in Cuba, Felipe de Jesús Estévez came to the United States through Operation Pedro Pan, which brought 14,000 unaccompanied minors from that country.
He was ordained a priest in 1970. As a member of the Canadian Society of Foreign Missions, he served in the Honduras for several years.
Father Estévez was received into the Miami Archdiocese in 1975, and was named auxiliary bishop in 2003.
The Saint Augustine Diocese has 171,000 Catholics, 136 priests, 62 permanent deacons, and 118 religious.
Evansville
On April 25, the Pope named Monsignor Charles Thompson, 50, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, as bishop of Evansville, Indiana.
Bishop-elect Thompson succeeds Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger, 75, who retired for reasons of age.
Bishop-elect Thompson stated: «The Eucharist is clearly the center of my life, ministry and service.
«This is clearly the focus of my intimacy with Jesus Christ, which gives purpose and meaning to all I am about as a priest and a Catholic Christian person.»
The Evansville Diocese has 87,800 Catholics, 75 priests, 52 permanent deacons, and 255 religious.
On Friday, the Vatican announced that the Holy Father appointed Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, as his special envoy for the celebration of the 4th centenary of the dedication of the Cathedral of Wloclawek, Poland. The celebration will take place June 26.
