BANGKOK, Thailand, May 14, 2009--Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovitvanit of Nakhon Sawan as the new archbishop of Bangkok.
The announcement was made on May 14 during which Pope Benedict XVI also accepted the resignation of Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu of Bangkok.
Archbishop-elect Kriengsak was born on June 27, 1949, and was ordained a priest on July 11, 1976.
He was sent to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1981 for further studies, returning to Thailand the following year to serve as rector of the minor seminary in Nakhon Ratchasima, in the northeast.
He was rector of Saeng Tham (light of the world) College, the national major seminary in Sam Phran, just west of Bangkok, from 1992 to 2000.
He was appointed Bishop of Nakhon Sawan, in central Thailand, on March 7, 2007.
Cardinal Michai turned 80 on Jan. 24. He was ordained a priest on Dec. 20, 1959 and appointed archbishop of Bangkok on Dec. 18, 1972.
The late Pope John Paul II elevated him to the rank of cardinal on Feb. 2, 1983.
Cardinal Michai is a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
He has also served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand and also headed the Catholic Commission for Clergy, Catholic Commission for Education, Catholic Commission for Seminaries and Vocations, Catholic Commission for Emergency Relief and Refugees, and Catholic Commission for National Social Cooperation. (CNA)