Pope Benedict XVI yesterday named Father Manyo Maeda of Nagasaki archdiocese as the next bishop of Hiroshima.

Bishop-Elect Maeda, 62, is currently serving as secretary-general of Japan’s Catholic bishops’ conference, a post he has held since April, 2006.

The new prelate’s predecessor, Bishop Joseph Atsumi Misue, who has now retired at the mandatory age of 75, was also originally a priest from Nagasaki and also served as the conference’s secretary-general.

Father Maeda was born on March 3, 1949, in Chuichi, Nagasaki Prefecture. He was ordained a priest on March 19, 1975.

Hiroshima diocese has jurisdiction over five prefectures: Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, Okayama, and Tottori. Its 41 churches minister to about 20,000 Catholics.