REYKJAVIK, Iceland, NOV. 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Most episcopal appointments do not require learning a new language, but for Bishop Pierre Burcher of Switzerland, his new post means mastering Icelandic.
Benedict XVI named Bishop Burcher, until now auxiliary bishop of Lausanne and Freiburg, Switzerland, as the new leader for the Diocese of Reykjavik.
The bishop told ZENIT that his study of Icelandic is already under way.
Bishop Burcher succeeds Bishop Joannes Gijsen, who resigned for reasons of age.
Pierre Burcher was born in Fiesch, Switzerland, in 1945. He was ordained a priest in 1971, for the Diocese of Lausanne and Freiburg.
In 1994, he was named auxiliary bishop of his home diocese. He was ordained to the episcopacy that year.
He is a member of the Vatican Congregation for Eastern Churches. In the Swiss Episcopal Conference he was director of the Section for Interreligious Dialogue and president of the Group for Working With Islam.
"I knew I was being prepared for something, but I never would have expected this appointment," he told ZENIT. "I welcome it in trust and abandonment to Christ the Good Shepherd. I'm happy and completely calm."
Another immigrant
The prelate explained why a Swiss would be named bishop of Iceland. "A large part of the Scandinavian countries -- Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden -- form only one Catholic diocese and the Catholics are basically immigrants. There are few local priests, and therefore, the bishops provide them from other European countries," he said.
"At the same time, the Church doesn't stop at the borders of the diocese," the bishop affirmed. "Our episcopal ministry calls us to have, as St. Paul told the Gentiles, a 'preoccupation for all the churches.'"
"I'm happy to discover the Church in Iceland and in the Scandinavian countries. As a shepherd of everyone, I will be an immigrant bishop among immigrants, " he noted.
He will take possession of the diocese this month, although no date has been set.
Only about 2% of Iceland's population of 300,000 are Catholics.
ZE07110611 - 2007-11-06