Resignation of auxiliary bishop of Cascavel, Brazil
Resignation and appointment of bishop of Ballarat, Australia
Resignation and appointment of bishop of Rochester, U.S.A.
Appointment of bishop of Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Resignation of auxiliary bishop of Cascavel, Brazil
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the metropolitan archdiocese of Cascavel, Brazil, presented by Bishop Aparecido Donizeti de Souza, titular of Macriana minor.
Resignation and appointment of bishop of Ballarat, Australia
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Ballarat, Australia, presented by Bishop Paul Bernard Bird, C.SS.R.
The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Mark Freeman, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Hobart, until now chancellor of the same archdiocese, as bishop of the diocese of Ballarat, Australia.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop Mark Freeman was born on 13 September 1959 in Launceston, Tasmania. He carried out his ecclesiastical studies at the regional seminary of Melbourne, Corpus Christi College, and was ordained a priest on 24 August 1984 for the archdiocese of Hobart.
Following ordination, he held the following offices: parish vicar of Bellerive (1984-1988), parish vicar of Launceston (1988-1991), diocesan director of vocations (1990-1993) and parish priest of West Coast (1991-1993). After his studies in Rome (1993-1996), he went on to serve as parish priest of South Hobart (1996-1998), parish priest of Ulverstone (1998-2003), parish priest of Mersey-Leven (2003-2009), vicar general (2005-2010), parish priest of Huon Valley (2009-2010), parish priest of Launceston (2010-2022) and chancellor (since 2023).
Resignation and appointment of bishop of Rochester, U.S.A.
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Rochester, United States of America, presented by Bishop Salvatore Ronald Matano.
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop John S. Bonnici as bishop of the diocese of Rochester, United States of America, transferring him from the titular see of Arindela and the office of auxiliary of New York.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop John S. Bonnici was born on 17 February 1965 in New York, in the metropolitan see of the same name. He was awarded a bachelor’s degree in biology and philosophy from Saint John’s University in New York, and carried out his ecclesiastical studies at the Pontifical North American College, obtaining a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences. He was subsequently awarded a doctorate from the same institute in Washington, United States of America.
He was ordained a priest on 22 June 1991 for the metropolitan archdiocese of New York.
He has held the following offices: parish vicar of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Elmsford (1992-1994), adjunct professor of theology at Saint Joseph’s Seminary and College in Dunwoodie (1995), deputy director (1995-1996) and director (1996-1999) of the Family Life/Respect Life Office, parish priest of Saint Philip Neri in the Bronx (2002-2008), parish priest of Saint Columba in Chester (2008-2021), administrator of Saint Mary in Washingtonville (2020-2021), parish priest of Saint Augustine and Saints John and Paul in Larchmont (2021-2022).
He was appointed titular bishop of Arindela and auxiliary of New York on 25 January 2022, and received priestly consecration on the following 1 March.
Appointment of bishop of Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Rumen Ivanov Stanev, until now auxiliary bishop and diocesan administrator of the diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria, as bishop of the same ecclesiastical circumscription.
