Corral Mantilla retired as Riobamba Bishop

Bishop Victor Alejandro Corral Mantilla retired as Bishop of Riobamba, Ecuador.

Sfeir resigned as Antioch (Maronite) Patriarch

Patriarch Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir resigned as Patriarch of Antiochia {Antioch} (Maronite), Lebanon.

Waltersheid named Pittsburgh Auxiliary

Bishop-elect William J. Waltersheid was named Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and titular bishop of California.

Poletto retired, Pellegrini named Concordia-Pordenone Bishop

Bishop Ovidio Poletto retired and Bishop-elect Giuseppe Pellegrini was named Bishop of Concordia-Pordenone, Italy.

Sterzinsky retired as Berlin Archbishop

Georg Maximilian Cardinal Sterzinsky retired as Archbishop of Berlin, Germany.

Victor retired as Brasilia Auxiliary

Bishop Francisco de Paula Victor retired as Auxiliary Bishop of Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.

Lona retired, Martínez Perea succeeded as San Luis Bishop

Bishop Jorge Luis Lona retired and Bishop Pedro Daniel Martínez Perea succeeded as Bishop of San Luis, Argentina.

Bishop Martínez Perea had been serving as Coadjutor Bishop of the same diocese.

Adams named Greece Nuncio

Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams was named Apostolic Nuncio to Greece.

He had been serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Philippines.

Kalathiparambil named Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People Secretary

Bishop Joseph (Joy) Kalathiparambil was named Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.

The post had been vacant since the resignation of Archbishop Agostino Marchetto in August 2010.

Bishop Kalathiparambil had been serving as Bishop of Calicut, India.

Tremblay retired, Lemay named Amos Bishop

Bishop Eugène Tremblay retired and Bishop Gilles Lemay was named Bishop of Amos, Québec, Canada.

Bishop Lemay had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Québec.

Lacroix named Québec Archbishop

Archbishop-designate Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, I.S.P.X. was named Archbishop of Québec, Canada.

The archdiocese had been vacant since then-Archbishop Marc Ouellet, P.S.S. was named Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops in June 2010.

Archbishop-designate Lacroix had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of the same archdiocese.

Hudsyn, Kockerols, and Lemmens named Mechelen-Brussel Auxiliaries

Bishop-elect Jean-Luc Hudsyn, Bishop-elect Jean Kockerols, and Bishop-elect Léon Lemmens were all named Auxiliary Bishops of Mechelen-Brussel {Malines-Brussels}, Belgium and titular bishops of Apt, Ypres, and Municipa, respectively.

Six Cardinal-Deacons become Cardinal-Priests

The six remaining Cardinal-Deacons that were created in the consistory of 21 Feb 2001 were today all elevated to Cardinal-Priests with each retaining the same title.

The six are: Cardinals Cacciavillan, Grocholewski, Kasper, Mejía, Sebastiani, and Tucci.

There are now 10 Cardinal-Bishops, 158 Cardinal-Priests, and 33 Cardinal-Deacons for a total of 201 living cardinals. Of those, 117 are eligible to vote in a conclave should one be required. 6 more cardinals will turn 80 and lose their eligibility to vote before the end of this year (including Cardinal Sebastiani who was elevated today).

Version 2.6.8 and a General Refresh

I'm happy to release a new version (2.6.8) of the main code along with an update to the build system (1.8.2). This was the first change to the build system since September 2003.

Just to explain that a bit, the main code (web.ssl) does most of the actual work (like generating a web page), the build system (build.ssl) controls the overall process.

The changes are almost all internal, relating mostly to expanding some variables that had reached their limits (i.e., the web site had simply grown too big) and adjusting the meaning of some others. As always, it is certainly possible that I've broken something else in the process, so if you see something really odd, please let me know.


For those that really watch the site closely, the Build Detail pages will have a few enhancements. (The lists of which bishops, dioceses, etc. were updated will still normally be included except for when the build is a "full" refresh.)

The other big event this weekend was a full refresh of the web site (44,660 web pages). (The site itself is slightly larger than that because it includes a few non-automated web pages.) That build is complete, but it may take a day or so to get it all uploaded.

The full build this time took a bit over 11 hours (which is part of the reason I don't do them very often!). I should note however, that is a vast improvement over the last successful full build which was done in April 2004 and took roughly 88 hours (and that was with about half the number of bishops on the site).

The full build before that took about the same length of time as the new one. It was in September 2003 and took just under 12 hours. But the site at that time was much simpler, it had just begun to add Bishop Lineages and it didn't yet have Titular Dioceses, Cardinal Titles, any of the Structured Views, nor any Consistory, Conclave, or Council information. At that time there were less than 14,000 bishops (vs over 30,000 now).

Jurkovič named Russian Federation Nuncio

Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič was named Apostolic Nuncio to Russian Federation.

The post had been vacant since Archbishop Antonio Mennini was named Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain in December 2010.

Archbishop Jurkovič had been serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine.

Nsue Edjang Mayé named Ebebiyin Bishop

Bishop-elect Juan Nsue Edjang Mayé was named Bishop of Ebebiyin, Equatorial Guinea.

The diocese had been vacant since the death of Bishop Alfred Maria Oburu Asue, C.M.F. in August 2006.

D’Annibale named Río Gallegos Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Miguel Ángel D’Annibale was named Auxiliary Bishop of Río Gallegos, Argentina and titular bishop of Nasai.

Mamza named Yola Bishop

Bishop-elect Stephen Dami Mamza was named Bishop of Yola, Nigeria.

The diocese had been vacant since the death of Bishop Christopher Shaman Abba in January 2010.

Alves de Souza named Porto Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Pio Gonçalo Alves de Souza was named Auxiliary Bishop of Porto, Portugal and titular bishop of Aquae Flaviae.

Gonçalves Heleno retired, Messias de Oliveira named Caratinga Bishop

Bishop Hélio Gonçalves Heleno retired and Bishop Emanuel Messias de Oliveira was named Bishop of Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Bishop Messias de Oliveira had been serving as Bishop of Guanhães.