Pope Francis has appointed Filipino Archbishop Bernardito Auza as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and Andorra, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Archbishop Auza, who is fluent in Spanish language, succeeds retired Italian Archbishop Renzo Fratini.
Fratini, who turned 75 in July, has been in the post since 2009.
The canon law requires bishops at age 75 to submit their resignation to the pope.
Auza’s appointment was announced in Rome on Tuesday.
Before his appointment, the archbishop has been serving as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York since 2014.
The Bohol native was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Tagbilaran in 1985.
He has been assigned to Madagascar and Haiti.
Archbishop Auza also served in the Secretariat of State in the Vatican, following his assignment to the Apostolic Nunciatures in Bulgaria and Albania, the CBCP added.
The archbishop’s appointment comes less than two years before the 500th anniversary celebration of the arrival of Christianity in the country through the Spanish missionaries.
Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga said that it is very significant and meaningful that the new papal envoy to Spain is a Filipino.
