Archbishop Tito Yllana is Apostolic Nuncio to Israel
Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Tito Yllana as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine.
As per Vatican News on the day the Vatican celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 3:
...Pope Francis appointed Filipino Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana as Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine.
The prelate has represented the Holy See on four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Now Pope Francis is calling him to carry out an important mission in the Holy Land.
Prior to this appointment, 73-year-old Archbishop Yilana had been serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Australia. He succeeds Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, who was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to India last March.
Born in Naga City
Archbishop Yllana was born on February 6, 1948 in Naga City, Philippines.
He was ordained a priest on March 19, 1972. He graduated as Doctor juris utriusque (Doctor of Both Laws) at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. After completing his studies at the Ecclesiastical Academy in 1984, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, serving successively at Pontifical Representations in Ghana, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Lebanon, Hungary and Taiwan.
In December 2001, Pope St. John Paul II appointed him as Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea and consecrated him Bishop on 6 January 2002 in St. Peter's Basilica (titular archbishop of Montecorvino). Subsequently he entrusted him with the leadership of the Nunciature in the Solomon Islands.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan in 2006 and Apostolic Nuncio to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010. In February 2015, Pope Francis appointed him as Apostolic Nuncio to Australia.
500 Years of Christianity
As the Philippines celebrates 500 Years of Christianity, Archbishop Yllana is another testament that the country is truly "Gifted to GIve". Other Filipinos who have been appointed by the Vatican including His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, the current Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, appointed in October 2019.
Pope Francis also appointed a Filipino priest to the Papal household. Cebuano priest Father Jan Thomas Limchua was given the honorific title “Monsignore Cappellano di Sua Santità” or ‘Chaplain of His Holiness’ in 2020. And another Bicolano, Fr. Bonifacio Lopez, was also appointed by Pope Francis in 2020 as the first ever Chaplain of Sports in Rome.
Meanwhile, Fr. Gerard Timoner, another Bikolano, is presently the Master General of the Order of Preachers.
by Margaux Salcedo
Art by Clyde Nolasco