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Father Kim Jong-gang (Simon, 57) of the Diocese of Cheongju has been appointed as the 4th Bishop of the Diocese of Cheongju. Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Jang Bong-hoon (Gabriel, 75), the Bishop of Cheongju, in accordance with Canon Law, and appointed Father Kim Jong-gang as the new Bishop. This was announced in the Vatican newspaper “Osservatore Romano” at 8:00 PM (12:00 PM Rome time) on March 19, 2022. Father Kim Jong-gang was born in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do in 1965 and was ordained a priest in June 1996. From June 1996 to January 1999, he served as an assistant at the Seoun-dong and Heungdeok parishes of the Diocese of Cheongju, and from January 1999 to January 2001, he served as the parish priest of Haksan parish. He also studied church history at the Pontifical Gregorian University until June 2006, and served as vice president of the Pontifical St. Paul International Missionary Institute from January 2005 to August 2010. He then served as director of the diocesan youth ministry and parish priest of Gyemyeong Parish, and as a professor at Daejeon Catholic University from August 2015 to August 2020. He has served as director of the management office of the Episcopal Conference from August 2020 to the present. Meanwhile, Bishop Jang Bong-hoon was appointed as the bishop of the Cheongju Diocese in 1999 and served as the bishop for 23 years. According to Article 401, Paragraph 1 of the Canon Law, a diocesan bishop is encouraged to submit his resignation to the Pope when he turns 75 years old. #Pope_Francis #Diocese of Cheongju #Father_Kim_Jong-gang