Mgr Henry Joseph Balzan has been appointed auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of La Serena in Chile, the Curia said.

The appointment was "joyfully welcomed" by Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, Bishop Anton Teuma and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi.

"The archdiocese of Malta and the diocese of Gozo are united in prayer for the bishop-elect so that the Lord will help him in this new mission," they said.

Balzan, a priest of the archdiocese of Malta, was born on November 1, 1963 in Ħamrun.

He entered the seminary in 1982 and obtained his Bachelor’s degree, and later his Licentiate, in Theology from the University of Malta.

He was ordained priest on July 5, 1991.

His first pastoral assignment was as vice-parish in Msida.

In November 1995, he was sent as a missionary to Chile in the diocese of Copiapò, where he worked till 2007.

In 2008, he returned to Malta, where he remained till 2015, to assist his elderly mother who then passed away.

During these years in Malta, he worked for some months in Żabbar, and in December 2008 was nominated parish priest in Ħamrun.

In 2016, he resumed his pastoral ministry in Copiapò.

In March 2020, he became parish priest of the Nostra Señora del Carmen Parish in Chañaral. In August 2021, he was appointed vicar general of the Diocese of Copiapò.

Since January 2022 he has been parish priest in Copiapò.