site.btaPope Appoints New Bishop of Catholics of Byzantine Rite in Bulgaria, Accepts Previous Bishop's Resignation

Pope Francis has appointed the Reverend Petko Valov Bishop of the Eparchy of St John XXIII for the Catholics of the Byzantine rite in Bulgaria. The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Monsignor Christo Proykov as Bishop of the same Eparchy.

The decision was published by the Holy See at 12 noon on Monday and was reported simultaneously in Sofia by the Catholic Church in Bulgaria.

At 1 p.m. at the Dormition of the Virgin Cathedral in Sofia, Monsignor Proykov announced the news to the clergy and the faithful Catholics of the Eparchy in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio to Bulgaria, Monsignor Luciano Suriani.

"I wish the new Bishop the grace of the Lord, the strength and wisdom of the Lord to lead him on his road," the Apostolic Nuncio said. He said that this is a very important day for the Eparchy and that, albeit humanly imperfect, divine pastors can rely on divine grace. The newly appointed bishop thanked the Lord and the Church for this new ministry which he is assuming and promised continuity.

The Reverend Petko Valev will be ordained bishop within three months, after which he will take over the Eparchy. Until then, Monsignor Proykov, who has headed the eparchy since 1995, will perform the functions of Apostolic Administrator.

In line with the effective Statute of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria, Bishop Christo Proykov resigned after completing the age of 75 in March 2021. The resignation becomes effected after it is accepted by the Pope. As of April 8, 2024, this is a fact with the appointment of the new eparchial bishop.

Petko Valov was born in Sofia on January 8, 1966. He graduated in dental technology. He studied philosophy at the Pontifical Urban College and, after transferring to the Pontifical Greek College, he attended courses in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, obtaining a licentiate in moral theology from the Pontifical Alphonsian Academy in Rome.

On October 11, 1997, he was ordained a priest for the eparchy of St John XXIII. Since 1999, he has been a parish priest of Dormitio Virginis in the Novo Delchevo Village (Southwestern Bulgaria). Since 2009, he has been a delegate of the Catholic Church to the National Council of Religious Communities in Bulgaria. Since 2013, he has been a delegate of the Executive Council of the Nativity of the Lord Diocesan Charitable Foundation for young single mothers. Since 2020, he has been Secretary of the Interritual BishopsÒ Conference of Bulgaria. Since 2022, he has chaired the Governing Board of Caritas Sofia.

Valov speaks Bulgarian, Italian, English, French, and Russian, and understands Church Slavonic and Macedonian.