Pontificio Collegio expresses support for Filipino Papal Envoy to Rwanda
Monsignor Catalan (Archdiocese of Manila image)
The Pontificio Collegio Filipino in Rome, Italy has expressed support for Monsignor Arnaldo Catalan, the newly appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Rwanda, Africa.
“We will be praying for him in his new mission to serve as the representative of the Holy See in one of its mission churches in Africa,” said Fr. Gregory Gaston, rector of the PCF, over Radio Veritas.
“Monsignor Catalan will shepherd the Catholics in Rwanda and lead the bilateral relations between the Vatican and Rwanda,” he added.
The Filipino Papal Envoy was recently ordained as the titular archbishop of Apollonia by Prefect of the Evangelization of People’s Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula and Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles John Brown in ceremonies held at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.
Also known as the Pontificio Collegio Seminario de Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje, Catalan was with the Pontificio in 1995 before he went to study at the Vatican’s Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy for diplomatic service. There are currently two Filipino priests studying diplomatic service at the academy, said Gaston.
“That is where our Papal Nunciios are trained. We currently have two Filipino priests there. Let us pray they too will become ambassadors of the Holy Father in the future,” Fr. Gaston said.
Aside from Catalan, the other Filipino Papal Envoys include Archbishop-emeritus Oswaldo Padilla, Archbishop Adolfo Yllana (Israel and Cyprus), Archbishop Francisco Padilla (Guatemala), and Archbishop Bernardito Auza (Spain).
