New Secretary for the Congregation for Eastern Churches

MAY 7, 2009 (Zenit) - Benedict XVI appointed Jesuit Father Cyril Vasil as secretary of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, and is raising him to the dignity of archbishop.

The Vatican press office announced today that the rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome will collaborate with Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, currently the prefect of the congregation that oversees the Eastern Rite Churches.

Cyril Vasil was born in 1965 in Kosice, Slovakia, and was ordained a priest in 1987. He entered the Jesuit order in 1990, and made his solemn profession in 2001.

Father Vasil completed a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in 1994, and was elected rector of the institution in 2007.

He has been a consultant for the Congregation for Eastern Churches as well as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.

He has authored numerous books and articles, and collaborates with Vatican Radio.