Pope Francis appoints Manila priest Arnaldo Catalan as new envoy to Rwanda

Archbishop-elect Arnaldo Sanchez Catalan is the first priest from the Archdiocese of Manila to become an apostolic nuncio. RCAM photo.

Pope Francis has appointed Filipino priest Monsignor Arnaldo Sanchez Catalan of the Archdiocese of Manila as the new apostolic nuncio to Rwanda.

Monsignor Catalan, now Archbishop-elect, is the first priest from the Archdiocese of Manila to become an apostolic nuncio.

Archbishop-elect Catalan, 55, has been serving as the Chargé d’affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in China since 2019. He has worked in the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See for the past 20 years.

The Filipino priest’s previous assignments were in the Apostolic Nunciatures in Zambia, India, Kuwait, Turkey, Argentina, Canada, and the Philippines. He was ordained to the priesthood on March 25, 1994.

The Filipino priest’s historic appointment as the new nuncio or the Pope’s ambassador to the African country was announced by the Holy See press office on January 31, 2022.

The Vatican has yet to announce the details of the Filipino priest’s episcopal ordination.

Monsignor Catalan succeeds Archbishop Andrzej Józwowicz who was transferred to Iran in June 2021.

Last year, Pope Francis appointed Filipino priest Albino Barrera as a new member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in the Vatican.

The Vatican envoy to Spain earlier hailed Filipino migrants as the best missionaries of the Catholic Church.

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