VATICAN (CNS): Pope Francis named 73-year-old Archbishop Adolfo Yllana of the Philippines, to be apostolic nuncio to Israel and Cyprus, and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine. The Vatican made the announcement on June 3
Archbishop Yllana, who had been nuncio to Australia since 2015, will succeed Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, who was named nuncio to India in March.
Born in Naga City, the Philippines, on 6 February 1948, Archbishop Yllana worked in seminaries in the Philippines before being sent to Rome to study canon law and civil law. In Rome, he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains Vatican diplomats.
After completing his doctorate in canon law and civil law, Archbishop Yllana was posted to West Africa in 1984, where he served the Church in Ghana, Togo and Benin. He continued his service with postings in Sri Lanka, Turkey, Lebanon, Hungary and Taiwan.
In December 2001, Pope St. John Paul II named him nuncio to Papua New Guinea, and ordained him an archbishop in January 2002. He was nuncio to Pakistan and then to Congo before being sent to Australia.
CBCPNews reported that Archbishop Yllana is one of the three Filipino active apostolic nuncios. The others are Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the nuncio to Spain; and Archbishop Francisco Padilla, the nuncio to Guatemala.
