Filipino archbishop appointed Pope's representative in Israel, Cyprus

Filipino Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana as the Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Cyprus and the Apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, according to a post on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

The 73-year-old Yllana, who hails from Naga City, is currently the Apostolic Nuncio to Australia where he served since 2015.

He succeeds Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, who was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to India last March.

Yllana has represented the Holy See on four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Yllana graduated as Doctor juris utriusque (Doctor of Both Laws) at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

He completed his studies at the Ecclesiastical Academy and in 1984 entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, serving 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 then he was assigned to 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.

CBCP News reported that Yllana is one of the three Filipino apostolic nuncios who are in active service.

The others are Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the nuncio to Spain, and Archbishop Francisco Padilla, the nuncio to Guatemala. -- BAP, GMA News