Japanese Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
Archbishop Kikuchi replaced Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-Sang of Macau, who resigned from the post this month.
The FABC announced the archbishops’ appointment in a letter sent to its member episcopal conferences on Thursday, July 22.
As secretary general, among his duties is to direct activities of FABC’s central secretariat, execute its resolutions and instructions, and coordinate the work of the federation’s offices.
Born in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture in 1958, he was ordained a priest for the Society of the Divine Word on March 15, 1986.
He was sent to Ghana’s Korofidua diocese following his ordination, becoming the first Japanese priest to go to Africa as a missionary.
In 1999, he was elected provincial superior of the SVD missionaries in Japan.
Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of Niigata on April 29, 2004. In October 2017, Pope Francis named him archbishop of Tokyo.
Archbishop Kikuchi currently heads Caritas Japan and was the regional president of Caritas Asia from 2011 to 2019.
He also served as member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the FABC Office on Human Development.
Japan prelate named secretary general of Asian bishops’ federation