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Pham, 58, is currently an auxiliary bishop in the diocese. He
fills the vacancy created when Pope Francis named Cardinal
Robert McElroy archbishop of Washington D.C. earlier this year.
Pham, who was born in Da Nang, Vietnam, was ordained a priest in
the San Diego diocese in 1999 and was made a bishop in 2023. He
was in charge of programming for the dioceses’ ethnic groups and
as of March had been the main diocesan administrator. The
diocese of San Diego counts about 1.3 million Catholics in a
total population of about 3.5 million people, according to the
U.S. Catholic bishops conference.
Prior to his election May 8, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost
headed the Vatican's bishops office and in that capacity would
have reviewed and vetted Pham's file.
In another appointment Thursday, Leo named a nun as the No. 2 in
the Vatican’s congregation for religious orders, a possible sign
that he plans to continue Francis' efforts to promote more women
to decision-making roles in the Vatican.
Sister Tiziana Merletti, the former head of the Franciscan
Sisters of the Poor, is a canon lawyer and now reports to Sister
Simona Brambilla, whom Francis in January appointed as the
first-ever woman to head a major Holy See office.
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