Spoken style His Excellency | Religious style Archbishop Name Antonio Franco | |
Reference style The Most Reverend | ||
En exclusiva Antonio Franco en El Resumen
Antonio Franco (born Puglianello, Italy, 24 March 1937) is a Vatican diplomat.
Contents
- En exclusiva Antonio Franco en El Resumen
- Brigante antonio franco
- Early life
- Diplomatic service
- Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine
- Assessor
- References
Brigante antonio franco
Early life
He was born in Puglianello, Italy, on March 24, 1937. He was ordained a priest of Telese o Cerreto Sannita on July 10, 1960.
Diplomatic service
He held various posts in diplomatic missions of the Holy See in Iran, France, Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York and the Section for Relations with States in Roman Curia.
In 2001, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Gallesium on 26 April 1992, received episcopal ordination by Pope John Paul II.
He served as Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine between 1992 and 1999. From 1993 to 1997 he also served there as head of the new Apostolic Administration of Zakarpattia of Latini, today a diocese of Mukacheve.
From 1999 to 2006 he was Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.
Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine
In 2006, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus as well as Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, replacing Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who was named the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
In 2007, a dispute arose as the Vatican protested the inscription under Pius XII photograph in Yad Vashem, alleging the Pontiff did not act to save Jews during the war. Franco even threatened to boycott the Holocaust Memorial Ceremony as a result.
He was praised for his service during the period of his work in the Holy Land. Specifically noted were the advance in the negotiations between Israel and the Holy See; his the handling of the Yad Vashem situation (where the aforementioned inscription was later modified), and fostering relationships between the local Churches.
After he reached the age limit, Franco retired from all his posts in August 2012 but remained responsible for the dossier for negotiations between the Holy See and Israel regarding fiscal concerns, taxes and Church lands in Israel.
Assessor
On February 22, 2013, he succeeded Archbishop Giuseppe De Andrea as the Assessor of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
He participates in the work of Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel.