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Contact: Patricia M. Chivers
The Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama All Media are invited to the Ordination ATLANTA — The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, Metropolitan Archbishop of Atlanta, will ordain The Most Reverend Rafael Zarama as the Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Atlanta at 2:00 p.m. on September 29, 2009, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30305. Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Luis Rafael Zarama, 50, 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 forward 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 November 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 in 1993. Bishop-Elect Zarama’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 Province 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. Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters will be airing the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop-Elect Luis R. Zarama LIVE from the Cathedral of Christ the King on Tuesday, September 29 at 2:00 pm. A special presentation of a conversation between Archbishop Gregory and Bishop-Elect Zarama will precede the ordination and begin at 1:30. The event will also be simulcast LIVE on AIB’s streaming service at AIBNet.tv. AIB TV can be viewed on Comcast – Channel 5 and Charter Communications (Smyrna, Roswell) – Channel 22. For information about the broadcast, contact Patty Mosteller at (404) 892-0454, pmosteller@AIBTV.com. The Atlanta Archdiocese has a population of 6,773,819 people, with 750.000, or 11 percent, of them Catholic. # # # Additional ResourcesThe Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama, Auxiliary Bishop-Designate of Atlanta Page
Page Last Updated: June 30, 2011
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