Bishop Sebastian Francis of Penang, Malaysia is appointed as the Chairman of the FABC Office of Social Communication (OSC) for a period of three years.
“On behalf of the FABC, I am happy to appoint you as the Chairman of the FABC Office of Social Communication (OSC) for a period of three years w.e.f., January 01, 2023,” said Cardinal Charles Bo, the President of the FABC, in the letter of appointment.
The chairman is entrusted with the task “to make the FABC OSC a vibrant and effective instrument for strengthening the episcopal ministry of the Church in Asia in the service of the Gospel” through social communications.
In his letter, Cardinal Bo has noted that “one of the important responsibilities which the FABC has entrusted to the FABC-OSC is the management and governance of the Radio Veritas Asia (RVA).”
“I am confident that with your experience and competence you will be able to guide and lead the RVA in its mission of proclaiming the Good News to the peoples of Asia,” Cardinal Bo said.
Bishop Sebastian Francis was born on 11 November 1951 in Johor Bahru, Johor which was then a part of the Federation of Malaya. From the year 1967 to 1970, he joined the St. Francis Xavier’s Minor Seminary in Singapore, before enrolling into College General, Penang from 1972 to 1976. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Malacca-Johor on 28 July 1977.
From 1981 to 1983, Father Sebastian Francis obtained a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He also studied at the Maryknoll School of Theology in New York, United States where he obtained a Degree in Justice and Peace in 1991.
In the year 2003, Sebastian Francis was appointed as Vicar general for the Diocese of Malacca-Johor, a position which he served until his appointment as the Bishop of Penang on July 7, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI. The episcopal ordination of Bishop Sebastian Francis was held at St Anne’s Church in Bukit Mertajam on Aug. 21, 2012.
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