Pope Names Bishop Zarama as Bishop of Raleigh

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has named Bishop Luis Zarama, auxiliary bishop of Atlanta as Bishop of Raleigh, North Carolina.

The appointment was publicized in Washington, July 5, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop-designate Zarama was born November 28, 1958, in Pasto, Colombia. He holds degrees in philosophy and theology from the Marian University in Pasto, and a degree in Canon Law from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 1993. He served as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Atlanta; he then served as a member of the Vocations Committee. Bishop Zarama was named vicar general of the Archdiocese in April of 2006 and in 2008 he was appointed to serve as the judicial vicar for the Archdiocese's Metropolitan Tribunal. He is also a member of the Archdiocesan Personnel Review Board. He was named auxiliary bishop of Atlanta on July 27, 2009.

As a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he is currently an alternate member for region XIV of the Administrative Committee.

The Diocese of Raleigh comprises 32,000 square miles and it has total population of 4,874,815 people of which 231,230 are Catholic.

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Keywords: bishop appointment, Pope Francis, Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio, Bishop Luis Zarama, Archbishop of Atlanta, Diocese of Raleigh

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