 The Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregor-v, Metropolitan Archbishop of Atlanta, ordained The Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama as the Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Atlanta at 2 p.m. on Sept. 29, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta.
Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Luis Rafael Zaraina, 30, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, to be auxiliary bishop of Atlanta. The appointment was announced in Washington D,C., July 27, by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Archbishop Gregory said, "I am deeply grateful to His Holiness for this appointment which so favorably responds to the growing pastoral needs of our burgeoning local Church. The Holy, Father's selection of Monsignor Zarama from among our own generous and zealous priests is an affirmation not only of the gifts of this very fine priest, but of the quality of all of the priests who serve us.
I heartily congratulate Bishop-Elect Zarama and I look foward to working with him in the Episcopal service of the needs of all of our people."
The Most Reverend John F. Donoghue, Archbishop-Emeritus of Atlanta, and The Most Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran, Metropolitan Archbishop of Oklahoma City, will be co-consecrators.
Luis Zarama was born Nov. 28, 1958, in Pasto, Colombia.
He entered the seminary of Pasto and the Universidad Mariana, where he studied philosophy and theology, from 1982-1987.
He studied canon law at the Universidad Javeriana, in Bogata, from 1987-1991. He was ordained a priest in Atlanta in1993.
Bishop-Elect Zarania's archdiocesan assignments have included parochial vicar, Sacred Heart Parish, Atlanta, 1993-1996; Administrator, St. Helena Mission, Clayton, Georgia, 1996-2006; pastor, St. Mark Parish, Clarkesville, Georgia, 1996-2006; Advocate, Court of Appeals, Ecclesiastical Province of Atlanta, 1993-1997; Defender of the Bond, Court of Appeals, Ecclesiastical Provinice of Atlanta, 1997-present; Assistant Director of Vocations, 2000-present; and Vicar General, 2006-present.
He also has been a member of the Committee for Continuing Education of Priests, 1996-present, and a member of the Personnel Board, 2004-present. In 2007, he was named a chaplain of His Holiness and received the title "monsignor." He became an American citizen July 4, 2000.
The Atlanta Archdiocese has a population of 6,773,819 people, with 750,000, or 11 percent, of them Catholic.
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