Bishop of Sofia e Plovdiv
Bishop-elect Rumen Ivanov Stanev was born on 19 August 1973 in Kaloyanovo, in the province of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He attended the major seminary in Rome, and was awarded a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Pontifical Urban University. He was ordained a priest on 11 September 1999 in the cathedral of Plovdiv, and was appointed as parish vicar in the parish of Rakovski-General Nikolaevo, and since 2005, parish priest in that of Rakovski-Sekirovo. He is president of diocesan Caritas, and a member of the presbyteral council and the college of consultors. Audiences 200905b Declaration of the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.