Antonio Franco (born Puglianello,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, 24 March 1937) is a

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

diplomat.

Biography

He was born in Puglianello,

, on 24 March 1937. He was ordained a priest of Telese o Cerreto Sannita on 10 July 1960. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

in 1968. He held various posts in diplomatic missions of the Holy See in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Permanent Mission of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in New York and the

Section for Relations with States The Section for Relations with States or Second Section of the Secretariat of State is the body within the Roman Curia charged with dealing with matters that involve relations with civil governments. It has been part of the Vatican Secretariat o ...

of the Secretariat of State. He was appointed

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Gallesium and Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine on 28 March 1992. He received his episcopal consecration from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 26 April. From 1993 to 1997, while Nuncio to Ukraine, he also served there as head of the new

Apostolic Administration An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Zakarpattia Zakarpattia may refer to: * Zakarpattia Oblast, an administrative region of modern Ukraine, on the inner side of the Carpathians ** Zakarpattia Oblast Council, regional assembly of Zakarpattia Oblast ** Administrative divisions of Zakarpattia Obla ...

of Latini (later the Diocese of Mukacheve). On 6 April 1999 he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines. On 21 January 2006,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

as well as Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, In April 2007, Franco threatened to boycott a Holocaust memorial ceremony at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

because of the way the museum described

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

's behavior toward the Jews during World War II. Franco relented saying he only meant to draw attention to the question and calling the dispute "only diplomacy". The museum’s plaque describing Pope Pius' activities was later modified. Franco also helped manage Pope Benedict’s visit to the Holy Land in May 2008, and he fostered discussions between religious communities and the Holy See and the regions’ governments. Franco retired from the diplomatic service 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. On 22 February 2013, he succeeded Archbishop

Giuseppe De Andrea Giuseppe De Andrea (20 April 1930 – 29 June 2016) was an Italian-born prelate of the Catholic Church who spent twenty years as a pastor in the United States and then twenty-five years in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Early years Gi ...

as the Assessor of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

. As late as 2017, he continued to serve as a member of the Holy See's delegation to the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel.

References

{{Authority control 1937 births Living people People from the Province of Benevento Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to the Philippines Apostolic Nuncios to Ukraine Apostolic Nuncios to Israel Apostolic Nuncios to Cyprus Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

Biography

See also

References