Resignation and appointment of archbishop of Auch, France
Appointment of bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Canada
Appointment of bishop of Santa Rosa de Osos, Colombia
Appointment of consultors of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
Resignation and appointment of archbishop of Auch, France
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Auch, Francis, presented by Archbishop Maurice Gardès.
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Bertrand Lacombe, until now titular of Saint-Papoul and auxiliary of Bordeaux, as archbishop of Auch.
Curriculum vitae
Archbishop-elect Bertrand Lacombe was born on 5 November 1966 in Montpellier, département of Hérault. He studied at the University of Montpellier, obtaining a licentiate in economic sciences. After his military service he worked for several years in Paris as an employment consultant. In 1995 he entered the inter diocesan seminary of Avignon, before proceeding to the university seminary of Lyon, where he was awarded a licentiate in theology from the Catholic Institute of Lyon.
He was ordained a priest on 24 June 2001 for the metropolitan archdiocese of Montpellier.
He has held the following offices: parish vicar and assistant to the chaplaincies of the public schools of Béziers (2001-2005); parish priest of Béziers (2005-2007); formator in the seminary of Toulouse and assistant in the public schools of Libron (2007-2011); national chaplain of Cub Scouts and Guides of France (2009-2015); and vicar general of Montpellier (2011-2016).
On 14 April 2016 he was appointed titular bishop of Saint-Papoul and auxiliary of Bordeaux, and was consecrated the following 12 June. He is a member of the Council for the Pastoral Care of Children and Youth within the Bishops’ Conference of France.
Appointment of bishop of Santa Rosa de Osos, Colombia
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Elkin Fernando Álvarez Botero, until now titular of Gemellae in Numidia and auxiliary of the metropolitan archdiocese of Medellín, as bishop of Santa Rosa de Osos, Colombia.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop Elkin Fernando Álvarez Botero was born in El Retiro, diocese of Sonsón - Rionegro, on 21 November 1968. He completed his ecclesiastical studies in philosophy in the Nuestra Señora in Marinilla major diocesan seminary, and his theological studies in the National Seminary of Christ the Priest in La Ceja. He obtained his licentiate in biblical theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and he attended specialisation studies in social doctrine and social ministry of the Church at the Universidad Católica de Oriente in Rionegro.
He received priestly ordination on 1 July 1993 for the diocese of Sonsón - Rionegro.
He has held the following offices: vicar of the Cathedral of Sonsón, formator, professor, bursar and rector of the Christ the Priest National Seminary in La Ceja, local collaborator of the apostolic nunciature in Colombia in Bogotá and director of the Department for the Hierarchical Ministries of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia in Bogotá.
On 28 May 2012, he was appointed titular bishop of Gemellae in Numidia and auxiliary of the metropolitan archdiocese of Medellín, Colombia. He received episcopal consecration the following 4 August. He has been secretary general of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia since 7 July 2016.
Appointment of bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Canada
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Thomas Dowd as bishop of the diocese of Sault Sainte Marie, Canada, transferring him from the titular see of Treba and office of the auxiliary of the metropolitan archdiocese of Montréal.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop Thomas Dowd was born in 11 September 1970 in Lachine, Montréal. Before entering the seminary, he obtained a university diploma in international trade at the Concordia University of Montréal.
He was ordained a priest on 7 December 2001, and has since held the following offices: assistant to the Holy Name (2001-2002) and Saint Thomas Beckett parishes (2002-2004); parish administrator of the Saint Veronica parish and assistant to the Saint Luke parish (2005-2006); and chaplain of Lakeshore General Hospital (2005-2008). Since 2005 he has worked in various offices of the Curia: for priests, vocations and the formation of pastoral agents. He was awarded a licentiate in theology at the University of Montreal, and taught theology at the Concordia University, and sacramental and liturgical theology at the Grand Séminaire of Montreal. He knows English, French, German and Spanish.
On 11 July 2011 he was appointed as titular bishop of Treba and auxiliary of Montréal, and was consecrated on 10 September 2011.
In the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, he is chair of the Committee on Canon Law and pepresentative of the Apostolat de la mer.
Appointment of consultors of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
The Holy Father has appointed as consultors of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Bishop Jorge Patricio Vega Velasco, S.V.D., bishop prelate of the Prelature of Illapel, Chile; the Reverend Fathers Diego Ramón Sarrió Cucarella, M.Afr., dean of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome, Italy; Sebastian Maria Michael, S.V.D., director of the archdiocesan Commission for Interreligious Dialogue of the Archdiocese of Bombay, India; In-gun Joseph Kang, S.J., coordinator of Buddhist Studies and Dialogue of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific - JCAP, Cambodia; Mario Imperatori, S.J., visiting lecturer at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy, Naples, Italy; Bryan Lobo, S.J., dean of the Faculty of Missiology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy; the Reverend Sisters Jolanta Maria Kafka, R.M.I., superior general of the Religious Sisters of Mary Immaculate and president of the International Union of Superiors General, Rome, Italy; Maria Angela De Giorgi, M.M.X., deputy director of the Shinmeizan Centre of Spirituality and Interreligious Dialogue, Nagomi-machi, Japan; Professor Ambrogio Bongiovanni, associate ordinary lecturer at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy; Professor Gaetano Sabetta, visiting lecturer at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome, Italy; Professor Vincenzo Buonomo, magnificent rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, Italy; Professor Rita George-Tvrtkovič, lecturer at the University of Notre Dame, Fort Wayne-South Bend, United States of America; Mr. Lawrence Chong, member of the Archdiocesan Catholic Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the archdiocese of Singapore, Singapore; Dr. Pierre Diarra, member of the Conseil pour les relations interreligieuses et les nouveaux courants religieux of the Bishops’ Conference of France, France; Professor Umberto Bresciani, lecturer at the Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei, Taiwan; Dr. Lawrence E. Sullivan, director emeritus of the Center for the Study of World Religions of the Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, United States of America; Dr. Valeria Martano, responsible for interreligious dialogue in Asia for the Sant’Egidio Community, Rome, Italy; Ms. Maria Lia Zervino, president of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations, Rome, Italy; and Ms. Nicoletta Bernasconi, member of the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue of the Focolare Movement, Rome, Italy.
