New Apostolic Nuntio in Jerusalem

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be able to watch the colorful, solemn entry of many Christian dignitaries into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The Filipino Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana has officially assumed yesterday his new office as Nuncio and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem.

Many Christian denominations came to the Latin Patriarchate in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City to attend this important ceremony of the Catholic Church. The solemn procession started at the Latin Patriarchate. The Latin Patriarchate exists in Jerusalem again since 1874 after a break for centuries. The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem is today the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

The solemn procession led through the Old City of Jerusalem to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the most important site in Christendom.

In addition to many representatives of the Catholic Church, such as the Latin Patriarch Pierrebatista Pizzaballa, I saw a wide variety of Catholic bishops, priests, monks and nuns of various

Catholic orders.

I also saw countless representatives of the local Eastern Churches taking part in the ceremonial procession - representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Greek Catholic Church (Melkites), the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and many more.

The mood was peaceful and happy, and it was nice to see representatives from so many Christian churches in a united way!

We had a special permit that allowed us to climb onto the roof of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. From here we had a great view of the solemn procession of Christian dignitaries when they arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The 73-year-old Filipino Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana is the new nuncio for Israel and Cyprus and the new apostolic delegate (ambassador of the Vatican) for Israel and Palestine. He has worked for the Vatican in the diplomatic service on nearly all continents for many years. At the beginning of June, Pope Francis appointed the Filipino as the new nuncio. Before that he represented the Pope in Pakistan, Congo and Australia, among others. In the Middle East, Yllana succeeds the Italian Vatican diplomat Leopoldo Girelli (68), whom the Pope had transferred to India as nuncio in March.

There has been an apostolic nuncio in the Holy Land since the founding of Israel in 1948. Diplomatic relations between Israel and the Holy See exist only since 1994.

In the 16th century papal nunciatures emerged as permanent institutions of the Holy See, initially at the Catholic royal courts, for example in Vienna and Graz or in Madrid. The permanent nunciature at the court of King Ferdinand I, which was established in Vienna in 1529, is considered to be the oldest of its kind.

As the pope's middleman, the nuncio is primarily supposed to maintain and strengthen the connection between the Holy See and the church of his host country. In addition, he should maintain the relationship between the Vatican and the state authorities in accordance with the norms of international law. He is on an equal footing with the ambassadors of secular powers and, like them, enjoys diplomatic immunity and ex-territoriality from his official seat.