Vatican City, 9 March 2016 – The Holy Father has appointed:

- Rev. Georges Colomb as bishop of La Rochelle (area 6,863, population 618,000, Catholics 398,000, priests 100, permanent deacons 27, religious 143), France. The bishop-elect was born in St. Athème, France in 1953 and was ordained a priest in 1987. He holds a degree in civil law and has served in a number of roles within the Paris Foreign Missions Society, including assistant tot he superior general, head of services for vocations and chaplain of the Catholic delegation for co-operation. He is currently superior general of the same society. He succeeds Bishop Bernard Housset, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- Bishop Darci José Nicioli, C.SS.R., auxiliary of the archdiocese of Aparecida, Brazil as metropolitan archbishop of Diamantina (area 45,131, population 523,913, Catholics 463,000, priests 79, religious 102), Brazil. He succeeds Archbishop Joao Bosco Oliver de Faria, whose resignation upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.