ROME, FEB. 2, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican today announced several bishops’ appointments.
Bishop Paul Lortie, auxiliary of Quebec, Canada, was named bishop of Mont-Laurier. That diocese has a population of some 95,000 with about 77,000 Catholics. They are served by 35 priests and just under 60 religious.
He succeeds Bishop Vital Masse, who retired for reasons of age.
Bishop Joseph Luc André Bouchard of St. Paul in Alberta, Canada, was named bishop of Trois-Rivieres. That diocese, with some 248,000 people, is almost entirely Catholic. They are served by some 175 priests and 540 religious.
He succeeds Bishop Martin Veillette, who retired for reasons of age.
Africa
Two auxiliary bishops were named for Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. They are Father Timothée Bodika Mansiyai, 50, rector of the philosophical seminary, and Father Sébastien Muyengo Mulombe, 53, of the clergy of Kinshasa, currently a student at the University of Leuven, Belgium.
The Archdiocese of Kinshasa has a population of nearly 8 million, about half of whom are Catholics. They are served by just over 1,000 priests and 2,700 religious.
The auxiliaries join another auxiliary bishop in assisting Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya.
And in Nigeria, Father Bulus Dauwa Johanna was appointed apostolic vicar of Kontagora.
That apostolic vicariate has a population of some 1.5 million, with only around 33,000 Catholics. They are served by just over 35 priests and less than 20 religious.
