Pope Appoints New Bishop and Nuncio in Madagascar, New African Cardinals to Roman Curia

CANAA || Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla || 13 April 2015

The Church in Madagascar has a new Bishop and a new apostolic nuncio.

On Monday, Pope Francis appointed Msgr. Paolo Rocco Gualtieri, Nunciature Counsellor, as Apostolic Nuncio in Madagascar, elevating him to the dignity of Archbishop. Archbishop Paolo, 54, takes over from Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent, who was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti on January 10, 2015.

Last Saturday, April 11, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Jean de Dieu Raoelison, auxiliary of Antananarivo, Madagascar, as the new bishop of Ambatondrazaka. Born on July 31, 1963, Bishop Jean de Dieu succeeds Bishop Antoine Scopelliti, O.SS.T., whose resignation upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Pope Francis appointed some of the Cardinals created in the Consistory of February 14, 2015, as members of various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, among them, two new African Cardinals.

According to reports from the Vatican, Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will serve in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and in the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.

Arlindo Cardinal Gomes Furtado of Santiago de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde, will serve in the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and in the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum.”