Pope Benedict XVI today accepted the resignation of Monsignor Thomas Menamparampil, the Salesian archbishop of Guwahati in India. He will be succeeded by John Moolachira, who last April was appointed coadjutor bishop.

Archbishop Menamparampil turned 75 last October, and handed in his resignation to the pope as prescribed by Canon Law. He had been at the head of the Archdiocese of Guwahati since its creation in 1992. Previously he had been bishop of Dibrugarh since 1981.

His successor, Archbishop John Moolachira, was born on December 14, 1951, in Puthusserykadavu village, in the diocese of Mananthavady in Kerala, and was ordained a priest in 1978 after attended St Thomas Minor Seminary in Chennai.

Archbishop Moolachira served as a parish priest in Udalguri from 1996 to 2005. Two years later, the pope appointed him bishop of Diphu.