Appointment of bishop of Itabira-Fabriciano, Brazil
Appointment of coadjutor bishop of Huehuetenango, Guatemala
Appointment of bishop of Itabira-Fabriciano, Brazil
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Francisco Cota de Oliveira as bishop of the diocese of Itabira-Fabriciano, Brazil, transferring him from the diocese of Sete Lagoas.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop Francisco Cota de Oliveira was born on 5 August 1969 in Onça do Pitangui, diocese of Divinópolis, in the State of Minas Gerais. He studied philosophy at the Pontifical Catholic University in Belo Horizonte-MG and theology at the Dom João Rezende Costa Institute of the archdiocese of Belo Horizonte-MG.
He was ordained a priest on 1 August 1999, and incardinated in the diocese of Divinópolis.
He has held the following offices: parish priest of Nossa Senhora do Carmen in Carmo do Cajuru-MG, Sant’Ana in Itaúna-MG and Nossa Senhora do Pilar in Pitangui-MG; diocesan assessor for youth; teacher in the preparatory seminary, the philosophy seminary, and the course in theology for the laity; vicar forane; promoter of justice of the diocesan Ecclesiastical Tribunal; member of the diocesan Council for Economic Affairs, and assistant diocesan bursar.
On 7 June 2017 he was appointed titular bishop of Fiorentino and auxiliary of Curitiba, receiving episcopal ordination on the following 26 August. On 10 June 2020 he was transferred as bishop of Sete Lagoas.
Within the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, he is a member of the Comissão Especial para a Ecologia Integral e Mineração.
Appointment of coadjutor bishop of Huehuetenango, Guatemala
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Miguel Ángel Martínez Méndez as coadjutor bishop of the diocese of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, transferring him from the apostolic vicariate of Izabal.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop Miguel Ángel Martínez Méndez was born on 5 May 1959 in Yupiltepeque, Jutiapa. He studied philosophy and theology in La Asunción National Major Seminary in Guatemala.
He was ordained a priest on 18 January 1986 for the diocese of Jalapa. In 2016, after the creation of the diocese of San Francisco de Asís de Jutiapa, with territory taken from the diocese of Jalapa, he was incardinated into the new diocese.
After ordination, he first served as parish priest of San Raymundo de Peñafort in San Carlos Alzatate (1986-1992) and parish priest of San José in El Adelanto, Jalapa (1992-1995). He studied for a licentiate in canon law at the Pontifical University of Salamanca in Spain (1995-1997), and went on to serve as parish priest of Nuestra Señora de la Expectación in La Montaña (1998-2003), parish priest of Nuestra Señora de Concepción in Monjas (2004-2009), parish priest of Santa Catarina, Virgen y Mártir in Quesada, Jalapa, and vicar general of the diocese of Jalapa (2010-2015); parish priest of Santa Cruz in Jutiapa (2016-2021), and parish priest of the Cathedral of San Cristóbal in Jutiapa (2022).
On 23 December 2022 he was appointed bishop of the apostolic vicariate of Izabal, receiving episcopal ordination on 18 March 2023.
