Francisco-Javier Lozano Sebastián (born November 28, 1943) is a Spanish

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who has spent his career in the diplomatic service 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 R ...

. He has been an archbishop since 1994 and held the title of

Apostolic 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 ...

to several countries until his resignation in 2015.

Biography

He was born to a farming family in

Villaverde de Íscar Villaverde de Íscar is a municipality located in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research ce ...

on November 28, 1943. He studied at the seminary in Seville and at the

Pontifical University of Salamanca The Pontifical University of Salamanca (in Spanish: ''Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca'') is a private Roman Catholic university based in Salamanca, Spain. History This Pontifical University has its origins in the unique University of ...

. He earned his licentiate in theology in 1966 from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He was ordained a priest on March 19, 1968, by Cardinal

Antonio Samorè Antonio Samorè (4 December 1905 – 3 February 1983) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967. Biography Samorè was born in Bardi, near Parma. After studying at the seminary in Piacenza a ...

In 1977 he obtained a doctorate in canon law from

Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

, while already working in the Nunciature in Nigeria. His other early postings in the diplomatic service of the Holy See included South Africa, Zimbabwe, Yugoslavia, and Guatemala. On July 25, 1994,

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 ...

appointed him

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 ...

Penafiel Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of . History The region ...

and Apostolic Nuncio to Tanzania. He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Angelo Sodano on July 25. John Paul made him Nuncio to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on March 20, 1999, during the Second Congo War, where in 2000 he criticized the shelling of

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...

as a "tragic and unjustified" targeting of the Christian population. He returned to Rome in 2001 and worked in the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State and in December was also made a member of the administrative council of Vatican Television. John Paul made him Nuncio to Croatia on August 4, 2003, and he received his next posting from

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 soverei ...

as Nuncio to both Romania and Moldova on December 10, 2007.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted his resignation as Nuncio on July 20, 2015.

Prize and awards

* October 24, 2020: the 9th edition of the

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 ...

Prize in

Bisceglie Bisceglie (; nap, label= Biscegliese, Vescégghie) is a city and municipality of 55,251 inhabitants in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in the Apulia region (''Italian'': ''Puglia''), in southern Italy. The municipality has the fourth hi ...

, Italy, together with Simona amabene, the Italian founder of the Marian family prayer ''Costola Rosa'', the singers

Golec uOrkiestra Golec uOrkiestra is a Polish folk-rock group, founded in 1998 in the southern village of Milówka near Żywiec by twin brothers Paweł and Łukasz Golec, after whom it is named. At its inception, the group consisted of eight musicians. The band ...

, Paolo Mengoli, Manuela Villa, Igor Minerva, Daniele Si Nasce, Devis Manoni, Silva Perentin, and the actors

Daniela Poggi Daniela Poggi (born 17 October 1954) is an Italian film and stage actress and television presenter. Background Born in Savona, at young age Poggi studied ballet, then graduated from Linguistic High-school. Following her family she moved in Mila ...

, Valentina Persia, Luca Capuano and Vincenzo Bocciarelli.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Francisco-Javier Lozano Sebastián
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lozano Sebastian, Francisco-Javier 1943 births Living people Apostolic Nuncios to Tanzania Apostolic Nuncios to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Apostolic Nuncios to Croatia Apostolic Nuncios to Romania Apostolic Nuncios to Moldova People from the Province of Segovia

Biography

Prize and awards

See also

References

External links