Father Christian Noel Emmanuel has been appointed bishop of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.
He succeeds Bishop Joseph Kingsley Swampillai, whose resignation upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
Christian Noel Emmanuel was born in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, in 1960 and was ordained a priest in 1986.
He has served as parish priest, diocesan head of catechism and liturgy, and professor at the diocesan seminary, and is currently vicar and bursar of the same diocese.
The Diocese of Trincomalee has a population of some 378,000, about 20,000 of whom are Catholics (5%). They are served by just over 35 priests and 50 religious.
Sri Lanka is mostly Buddhist with 70.2% percent of the population professing that religion. Others are Hindu 12.6%, Muslim 9.7%, Roman Catholic 6.1%, and other Christian 1.3%.
