OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 2 January 2013 (VIS) - On Saturday, 29 December, the Holy Father:

- appointed Fr. William Goh, rector of the Major Seminary of Singapore, as coadjutor archbishop of Singapore (area 699, population 5,000,000, Catholics 190,000, priests 131, religious 152). The archbishop-elect was born in Singapore in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1985. He studied theology at the Gregorian University in Rome and has fulfilled pastoral roles in Singapore. He served as professor at the major seminary of Singapore from 1992 to 2005, and as rector from 2005.

- erected the new diocese of Gboko (area 10,692, population 1,690,000, Catholics 896,860, priests 80, religious 29), Nigeria, with territory taken from the diocese of Makurdi, making it a suffragan of the archdiocese of Abuja. He appointed Bishop William Avenya, auxiliary of Makurdi, Nigeria, as first bishop of the new diocese.

- erected the new diocese of Katsina-Ala (area 6,465, population 676,000, Catholics 338,497, priests 32, religious 8), Nigeria, with territory taken from the diocese of Makurdi, making it a suffragan of the archdiocese of Abuja. He appointed Fr. Peter Iornzuul Adoboh of the clergy of Makurdi as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Tse-Kucha, Nigeria in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1984. He has undertaken studies in spirituality at the Institute of St. Anselm, England and the Toronto School of Theology, Canada, and has fulfilled pastoral roles in Vandeikya, Zaki-Biam, Aliade, Abuja and Adikpo.

On Monday, 31 December, the Holy Father:

- accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica, presented by Bishop Oswaldo Brenes Alvarez, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- appointed Msgr. Egidio Turnaturi and the Honorable Dr. Riccardo Turrini Vita as judges of the Vatican City State Court of Appeals.