AMERICA/GUYANA - Rev. Emmanuel Lafont appointed Bishop of Cayenne

Vatican City (Fides) - The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has, June 18 2004 appointed
Bishop of Cayenne (French Guyana) Reverend Father Emmanuel Lafont, of the clergy of Tours (France).
The Bishop elect was born in Paris 26 October 1945. He studied in France and in Rome, at the Gregorian University and obtained a Licentiate in Theology. He was ordained a priest on 2 August 1970 for the diocese of Tours. He has since been: assistant parish priest, college chaplain, diocesan youth co-ordinator and chaplain, fidei donum priest in South Africa for 14 years as parish priest in Soweto, in charge of on-going formation for priests while teaching at Pretoria inter-diocesan Major Seminary. On returning to France he was National Director of the PMS for two consecutive terms and Secretary of the Bishops’ Commission for Missionary Cooperation. Since 2002 he has been parish priest in the diocese Tours.
Cayenne diocese (1956) with Basse-Terre (Guadalupa) is a suffragan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Fort-de-France (Martinique). It has an areas of 90.000 sq. km, a population of 200,000 including 150,000 Catholics, gathered in 23 parishes, looked after by 31 priests(7 diocesan and 24 religious), 63 women religious and there are 3 major seminarians. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 18/6/2004; Righe 15; Parole 190)