Francis Assisi Chullikatt JCD (b 20 March 1953) is an Indian-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been the

Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina The Apostolic Nunciature to Bosnia and Herzegovina the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Sarajevo since 1993. The current Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina is Francis Assisi Chullikatt, who w ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

since 1 October 2022. He was the

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations is the representative of the Holy See (Vatican) at the United Nations (UN). This diplomatic mission does not have the status of Permanent Representative because the Holy See is not a UN m ...

from 17 July 2010 until 1 July 2014. He previously served as

Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq The Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq is the representative of the Holy See in Iraq. He is appointed by the pope and represents all Catholics in the country, both Latin Rite and Eastern Catholic. Since 1966 the government of Iraq has had full diplomatic rel ...

and Jordan, and to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

from 30 April 2016 until 1 October 2022.

Early years

Chullikatt was born in 1953 in Bolghatty,

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was

incardinated Incardination is the formal term in the Catholic Church for a clergyman being under a bishop or other ecclesiastical superior. It is also sometimes used to refer to laity who may transfer to another part of the church. Examples include transfers ...

in the

diocese of Verapoly The Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church, composed of Latin Catholics of Malabar and headquartered at the city of Cochin, in the south Indian state of Kerala. Th ...

where he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest on 3 June 1978. He continued his studies and received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. He speaks English, Italian, French and Spanish. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 15 July 1988. He served in the papal representations in Honduras, in various countries of southern Africa, in the Philippines, at the United Nations in New York from 2000 to 2004, where he served as a Counsellor at the Holy See's Mission to the United Nations and, finally, in the Secretariat of State in the Vatican.

Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan

He was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan and

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 Ostra on 29 April 2006 by Pope Benedict, having served as the counsellor to the nunciature. He took ''Fidei in Virtute'' or "By the power of faith" as his episcopal motto. In February 2010, Chullikatt said that Christians have often been targets, and especially the Christians of Mosul "have paid a high price, despite their unanimously recognized peaceful life." He continued saying "One has the impression that the reason to attack these minorities is strictly and only their religious faith or their different ethnic membership," the nunciature note continues. "Many Christians live in fear of staying in the territory which has seen them present for 2,000 years. The statement declares that "urgent help is needed: Especially necessary is that the pressure of world opinion not fall, so that all the violence and discrimination ends immediately." The statement suggests the future of minorities depends on international attention. "Moreover, it is hoped that the local authorities will not fail to attempt anything to guarantee the defenseless all the protection to which they are entitled, precisely in virtue of their Iraqi citizenship, which they have never betrayed," it continues. "Christians request that they be able to live their life in tranquility and profess their faith with total security, a basic condition of every civilization." In March 2010 Chullikatt said that "any attempt to decrease the Christian presence or worse, to destroy the Christian presence in Iraq would mean destroying the history of the Iraqi nation." He noted that all the Christian churches and Christian leaders in the country are involved in interreligious dialogue and are in constant contact with Muslim leaders. Chullikatt said that international solidarity is crucial for the survival of Iraq's minorities, "especially the Christians who are most exposed to the kind of violence taking place now, particularly in Mosul." In July 2011 in a speech in Kansas City on nuclear disarmament he said: "The simple truth about the use of nuclear weapons is that, being weapons of mass destruction, they cannot comply with fundamental rules of international humanitarian law forbidding the infliction of indiscriminate and disproportionate harm. Nor can their use meet the rigorous standards of the Just War principles' moral assessment of the use of force.... Viewed from a legal, political, security and most of all - moral - perspective, there is no justification for the continued maintenance of nuclear weapons."

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations

Chullikatt was appointed as

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 ...

on 17 July 2010, the first non-Italian to hold the post. He was also named

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States is a diplomatic post of the Holy See. First appointed in 1978, the position had been given to the Vatican's diplomat to the United States until 2012. In 2012, Pope Bened ...

. In November 2012 Chullikatt welcomed the General Assembly vote which gave majority approval to Palestine becoming a Non-member Observer State of the United Nations. In January 2014 Chullikatt spoke before the

United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations The U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa is a subcommittee within the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It was known in previous Congresses as the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations; those matters ...

. In April Chullikatt praised the U.N.'s plan to eradicate poverty, emphasising the importance of the family in encouraging development and in fighting poverty. In eradicating poverty "we do not need to reinvent the wheel," Chullikatt said in a 31 March statement. "Setting a development agenda for the next 15 years is a powerful gesture of intergenerational solidarity. The future we want becomes, then, the future we want for our children and our children’s children." During his service as a permanent observer at the UN, several employees of the Holy See's mission at the UN reported him to the Vatican for underpayment and improper treatment, and only on March 11, 2019, appeared on the portal ''Crux Now'' a text titled "Former UN envoy’s tenure described as ‘horror story’ for staff". On 1 July 2014 Chullikatt resigned from his post at the UN without receiving another assignment. He spent a semester as a fellow at

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

Apostolic Nuncio to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

He was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in 30 April 2016. He was made Nuncio to Kyrgyzstan as well on 24 June 2016.

Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro

On 1 October 2022, Pope Francis appointed him as Apostolic Nuncio to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and