KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (UCAN) -- Happiness and excitement, more than surprise, were the reactions after Pope Benedict XVI erected Sandakan diocese in Sabah state on July 16 and appointed its first bishop.

The pope named Father Julius Dusin Gitom, 49, to head the new diocese created from Kota Kinabalu diocese. The Catholic Church in Sabah, Malaysia's easternmost state, now comprises the three dioceses of Keningau, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, all suffragans of Kuching archdiocese in neighboring Sarawak state.

The erection of the new diocese did not come as a surprise to local Catholics, since talk of such a move had been circulating since the end of 2005. Many people saw the rumors as confirmed in May 2006, when Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, the Bangkok-based apostolic delegate to Malaysia, visited three of the four parishes that would eventually comprise Sandakan diocese. They cover the eastern region of Sabah.

Bishop-elect Gitom, a priest of Kota Kinabalu diocese, finished a three-year licentiate course on canon law at University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, the only pontifical university in Asia, this past March. He was about to start a marriage tribunal in Kota Kinabalu when he was appointed bishop of Sandakan.

"I was afraid because it was all new to me. It took me about a month to decide," he told UCA News. "In the end, obedience won over."

The new diocese's territory has a population of 1 million, about 64,000 of whom are Catholics. Its base is at St. Mary's Church, the future cathedral, in Sandakan, about 1,850 kilometers east of Kuala Lumpur.

The other three parishes are St. Dominic in Lahad Datu, Holy Trinity in Tawau and newly erected St. Martin in Telupid. The last parish was formerly under Ranau parish in Kota Kinabalu diocese. Six diocesan priests, seven Franciscan nuns, one major seminarian and 16 catechists serve in the new Church territory.

Bishop-elect Gitom, born on Oct. 14, 1957, was ordained a priest on Nov. 19, 1989.

During his seminary days, he taught catechism in schools and did apostolic work in hospitals and a leprosy facility. He also did pastoral work in a nearby village.

After his ordination, he served in parishes in Keningau, Lahad Datu, Penampang, Sook and Tuaran until 1995, when he was sent to further his studies at Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. There he obtained a licentiate in moral theology. While in Rome he also obtained a master's degree in spiritual theology at Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

After returning from his studies, he lectured on spirituality 2000-2003 at St. Peter's College in Kuching, where he had received his priestly formation in the 1980's.

Some Church personnel spoke with UCA News about their impressions on the erection of the new diocese and the appointment of the new bishop.

Monsignor Primus Jouil, vicar general of Kota Kinabalu diocese, said he felt "good" and "relieved." Father John Wong, head of the Catholic Diocesan Centre, and Father Nicholas Ong, parish priest of St. Dominic Parish in Lahad Datu, both born in Sandakan, said they were "very happy." However, Father Paul Lo, assistant parish priest at St. Mary's Church in Sandakan, said he was "surprised" because he had expected another person to be appointed bishop.

Sharon Ho, administrator of the St. Mary's parish office, said the parish is very excited and busy gearing up for the episcopal ordination and installation, set for Oct. 15. She added that Bishop John Lee Yit Yaw of Kota Kinabalu would meet the organizing team on July 21 to plan the events.

Before the erection of Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu diocese had more than 200,000 Catholics in a total population of about 3.5 million.

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