Japanese Archbishop Tarci-sio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo has been appointed as the new Se-cretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
Archbishop Kikuchi replaced Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-Sang of Macau, who resigned from the post this month.
The FABC announced the archbishops’ appointment in a letter sent to its member episcopal conferences on Thursday, July 22. As secretary general, among his duties is to direct activities of FABC’s central secretariat, exe-cute its resolutions and instru-ctions, and coordinate the work of the federation’s offices.
Born in Miyako, Iwate Pre-fecture in 1958, he was ordained a priest for the Society of the Divine Word on March 15, 1986.
He was sent to Ghana’s Korofidua diocese following his ordination, becoming the first Japanese priest to go to Africa as a missionary.
In 1999, he was elected provincial superior of the SVD missionaries in Japan.