site.btaMonsignor Rumen Stanev Becomes New Catholic Bishop of Sofia-Plovdiv Diocese

Monsignor Rumen Stanev is the new Catholic bishop of the Sofia-Plovdiv diocese, Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Luciano Suriani, representative of the Pope in Bulgaria, said on Wednesday during a prayer service in the Cathedral of St Louis in Plovdiv.

Stanev has been Auxiliary Bishop and Diocesan Administrator of the Sofia-Plovdiv Diocese and will follow Monsignor Georgi Yovchev as bishop of the same.

Suriani expressed gratitude to Yovchev for the long, engaging and at times suffering ministry of a shepherd and father and emphasized that only God, who tests and knows hearts, will be able to truly appreciate what he has managed to accomplish during his 37 years of ministry. He wished the new bishop to always and everywhere enjoy the presence of Christ's peace in his heart and to bestow it on all those he meets in the exercise of his ministry, especially those who are going through painful trials.

Stanev stated that he accepts the appointment with deep humility and excitement and that he never aspired to this position, but since he placed himself in the hands of God with the ordination, he accepts it as a grace from God.

The Sofia-Plovdiv Diocese is the largest of the three Catholic dioceses in Bulgaria with over 25,000 Catholics. 

Monsignor Rumen Stanev was born on August 19, 1973 in Kaloyanovo, Plovdiv Region, into a Catholic family. He studied to be a priest at the seminary in Rome and graduated with a degree in theology from the Pontifical Urban University. Stanev has been the chairman of Caritas Vitania since the organization's founding and he is the Secretary General of the Interritual Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria. In 2020, Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of the Sofia-Plovdiv Diocese. Since 2020, he has been elected President of Caritas Bulgaria. He was ordained a bishop on January 17, 2021.