The Apostolic Nunciature to Israel is the nunciature (equivalent to an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

) 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 ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The head of the nunciature is the Apostolic Nuncio to Israel, who is the holder of a

diplomatic Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...

position within the Holy See and acts as

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...

(ambassador) of the Holy See to Israel. The office's work takes place in the broader backdrop of

Holy See–Israel relations Holy See–Israel relations are the diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel, as well as a concordat defining the status and fiscal and property rights of the Catholic Church and related entities within Israel. Formal ...

that have evolved considerably since 1994. Since 1994, the nuncios to Israel have held simultaneous appointments as Nuncios to Cyprus and Apostolic Delegates to Jerusalem and Palestine. The nunciature is located in Tel Aviv.

History

In 1948, the Holy See created the office of

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international o ...

to Jerusalem and Palestine with responsibilities in Palestine, Transjordania, 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 ...

. In 1973 the Nunciature of Cyprus was erected. Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and State of Israel were established in 1994 following the signing of the

Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel The Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel or "Fundamental Agreement" is a treaty or concordat between the Holy See and the State of Israel, signed on 30 December 1993. The Agreement deals with the property rights and ta ...

on 30 December 1993. Archbishop

Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (27 August 1925 – 19 November 2017) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1977 until he retired in 2001. As Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint ...

, who had been Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine since 1990, was appointed the first Apostolic Nuncio to Israel.

List of representatives

; Apostolic Delegates to Jerusalem and Palestine *

Gustavo Testa Gustavo Testa (28 July 1886 – 28 February 1969) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was made a cardinal in 1959. He spent his career in the Roman Curia. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1920 and held several ...

(11 February 1948 – 6 March 1953) *

Silvio Angelo Pio Oddi Silvio Angelo Pio Oddi (14 November 1910 – 29 June 2001) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. He became a cardinal in 1969 and headed the Congregation for t ...

(30 July 1953 – 11 January 1957) * Giuseppe Maria Sensi (12 January 1957 – 10 May 1962) *

Lino Zanini Lino Zanini (6 May 1909 – 25 October 1997) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See for 45 years and then oversaw St. Peter's Basilica, including archaeological work and access improvement ...

(30 May 1962 – 4 January 1966) * Augustin-Joseph Sépinski, O.F.M. (2 October 1965 – 5 May 1969) *

Pio Laghi Pio Laghi (21 May 1922 – 10 January 2009) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the P ...

(24 May 1969 – 28 May 1973) * William Aquin Carew (10 May 1974 – 30 August 1983) * Carlo Curis (4 February 1984 – 28 March 1990) *

(28 April 1990 – 19 January 1994) ;Nuncios to Israel Since 1994, the Nuncio to Israel has also simultaneously held the titles Nuncio to Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine. *

(19 January 1994 – 7 March 1998) *

Pietro Sambi Pietro Sambi (27 June 1938 – 27 July 2011) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1969 until his death in 2011. He had the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985, fulfilling ...

(6 June 1998 – 17 December 2005) * Antonio Franco (21 January 2006 – 18 August 2012) *

Giuseppe Lazzarotto Giuseppe Lazzarotto KC*HS (born 24 May 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1971 to 2017, with the rank of apostolic nuncio and an archbishop since 1994. Biography Giusep ...

(18 August 2012 – 28 August 2017) *

Leopoldo Girelli Leopoldo Girelli (born 13 March 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as the apostolic nuncio to India and to Nepal. He was nuncio to Israel and to Cyprus as well as apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine from 2017 ...

(13 September 2017 – 13 March 2021) *

Adolfo Tito Yllana Adolfo Tito Camacho Yllana (born 6 February 1948) is a Philippine prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has been an archbishop and apostolic nuncio since 2001, the Apostolic Nuncio to Israel as ...

(3 June 2021 – present)

References

{{Diplomatic missions of the Holy See

Holy See–Israel relations Apostolic Nuncios to Israel

History

List of representatives

See also

References