Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Pope Benedict XVI, on June 10, 2010, accepted the renunciation of the pastoral government of the Vicariate Apostolic of Puerto Carreño (Colombia), presented by Archbishop Efrén Álvaro Rincón Rojas, C.Ss.R., according to Canon 401§1 of the Code of Canon Law. The Holy Father has appointed as Vicar Apostolic of Puerto Carreño (Colombia), Fr. Francisco Antonio Escobar Ceballos, C.Ss.R., Pro-Vicar of the same ecclesiastical circumsciption. He was assigned the Titular See of Zarn.
Fr. Francisco Antonio Ceballos Escobar, C.Ss.R., was born March 4, 1958 in Genova (Diocese of Armenia) in Quindío, Colombia. After primary school, he completed high school at the Minor Seminary of the Redemptorists Fathers, San Clemente Maria Hofbauer, in Manizales. After the novitiate in Piedecuesta, in Santander, he made final vows on August 5, 1984. He studied philosophy at the “Centro Pastoral de Bogotá,” philosophy and theology at the Redemptorist “Teologado Interprovincial” in Tlalpizáhuac, Mexico. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1985. After ordination, he held the following positions: 1985-1986: traveling missionary in Manizales, 1986-1987: Vicar of St. Alphonsus Parish, 1987-1989: Professor and Director of the Minor Seminary of the Redemptorists, Manizales, 1989-1990: Director of the Minor Seminary of the Apostolic Vicariate of Sibundoy; 1990-1995: Rector of the Redemptorist Seminary-College in Manizales, 1995-1998: Studies for a Degree in Educational Sciences at the University of St. Thomas, Bogotá, 1998-2001: Superior of the House of Theologates in Bogota ; since 1999, ordinary provincial Councilor and Chairman of the Secretariat for Education; 2001-2008: Provincial of the Redemptorists for two consecutive terms; since 2008: Pro-Vicar of Puerto Carreño.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Carreño was erected in 1999. It covers an area of 71,368 sq km and has 42,000 inhabitants, including 31,000 Catholics, with three parishes (and two others in the process of becoming a parish) and nearly 26 places of worship or ministry. They are served by eight priests (of which five belong to the Congregation of the Redemptorists) and a religious brother. 5 religious sisters collaborate actively in the work of evangelization. There are 3 major seminarians. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 06/10/2010)
