The following press release was issued on May 13, 2023, by Caritas Internationalis, of which Development and Peace ― Canada is a member.
Caritas Internationalis (May 11-16), on the evening of May 13, Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi was elected as the new President of Caritas Internationalis to serve the Confederation over the next four years.
Archbishop of Tokyo, Rev. Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi SVD, is the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan and the Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).
He has worked with Caritas organisation in various positions and titles since 1995, starting from a volunteer in Refugees’ Camp in Bukavu, then Zaire. He served as the Executive Director of Caritas Japan from 1999 to 2004 and the president of Caritas Japan from 2007 to 2022. He was also the president of Caritas Asia from 2011 to 2019, a member of the Caritas Internationalis Executive Committee from 1999 to 2004, and a member of the Representative Council from 2011 to 2019.
“Caritas must be in the front line to receive, accompany, serve and defend the poor and vulnerable. This mission must be upheld and capture all attentions of the Members of the Confederation and I would like to be the one to lead entire organization to fulfill this important mission of the Church together with the Secretary General. All are invited to walk together,” he said yesterday addressing the 400 Caritas delegates from all over the world.
Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi was born in Iwate on 1 November 1958. He was professed into the Divine Word Missionaries in March 1985 prior to his ordination to the priesthood on 15 March 1986. As a newly ordained young priest, he served as a missionary to Ghana, Africa, where he was a parish priest in a rural parish for 8 years.
He has been serving as Archbishop of Tokyo since his appointment in 2017.
Prior to his installation as Archbishop of Tokyo, he had served as the Bishop of Niigata since 2004 when he was first named as a bishop.
The Caritas Confederation wishes its new president the very best wishes for his mission.
Also see the press release about the election of Alistair Dutton as the new secretary general of Caritas Internationalis.
