Pope Francis appoints Filipino as new Vatican rep to the UN

By N.j. Viehland
National Catholic Reporter
July 2, 2014

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-francis-appoints-filipino-new-vatican-rep-un

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, papal nuncio to Haiti, poses for a photo after the 2010 earthquake outside his residence near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Archbishop Auza was named head of the Holy See Observer Mission to the U.N.

Manila, Philippines

Pope Francis has appointed Filipino Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York.

The appointment was announced over Vatican Radio on July 1.

The 55-year old Auza will replace Archbishop Francis Chullikatt from India, the first non-Italian to have acted as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the U.N. Chullikatt leaves his diplomatic position after the normal four-year stint expected of a Vatican diplomat.

A native of Talibon, Bohol, Auza was consecrated Titular Archbishop of Suacia on May 8, 2008, the same day he was appointed Nuncio to Haiti. He was Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti and also Apostolic Administrator of the capital city Porte-au-Prince after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2010. He is a career diplomat, having worked at various diplomatic posts.

His first assignment was in Madagascar and the South Indian Ocean from 1990 to 1993 and was a member of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the U.N. before assuming his post in Haiti.

Manila, Philippines

Pope Francis has appointed Filipino Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York.

The appointment was announced over Vatican Radio on July 1.

The 55-year old Auza will replace Archbishop Francis Chullikatt from India, the first non-Italian to have acted as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the U.N. Chullikatt leaves his diplomatic position after the normal four-year stint expected of a Vatican diplomat.

A native of Talibon, Bohol, Auza was consecrated Titular Archbishop of Suacia on May 8, 2008, the same day he was appointed Nuncio to Haiti. He was Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti and also Apostolic Administrator of the capital city Porte-au-Prince after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2010. He is a career diplomat, having worked at various diplomatic posts.

His first assignment was in Madagascar and the South Indian Ocean from 1990 to 1993 and was a member of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the U.N. before assuming his post in Haiti.