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

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has spent his career in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

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

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; 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 organization. A nuncio is ...

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 A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calcu ...

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

Pontifical University of Salamanca The Pontifical University of Salamanca (in Spanish (language), Spanish: ''Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca'') is a Private university, private Catholic university, Roman Catholic university based in Salamanca, Spain. History This Pontifica ...

. He earned his licentiate in theology in 1966 from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

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

Antonio Samorè Antonio Samorè (4 December 1905 – 3 February 1983) was an Italian cardinal and diplomat of the Catholic Church. Biography Samorè was born in Bardi, near Parma. After studying at the seminary in Piacenza and the Pontifical Lateran Unive ...

Diplomatic career

In 1977, he obtained a doctorate in canon law from

Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

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 25 July 1994,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

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 Municipalities of Portugal, municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the Norte Region, Portugal, northern Portugal, Portuguese Porto District, district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion ...

and Apostolic Nuncio to Tanzania. He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal

Angelo Sodano Angelo Raffaele Sodano (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and previously as the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006; S ...

on 25 July. John Paul made him Nuncio to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 20 March 1999, during the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...

, where in 2000 he criticized the shelling of

Kisangani Kisangani (), formerly Stanleyville (), is the capital of Tshopo, Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban a ...

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 4 August 2003, and he received his next posting from

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

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

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted his resignation as Nuncio on 20 July 2015.

Prize and awards

* 24 October 2020: the 9th edition of the

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

Prize in

Bisceglie Bisceglie (; ) 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 highest population in the province

, 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 Paolo Mengoli (born 14 August 1950) is an Italian singer, mainly successful between late 1960s and 1970s. Life and career Born in Bologna, after performing in several local music halls in 1968 Mengoli won the Castrocaro Music Festival.Enzo Gian ...

, Manuela Villa, Igor Minerva, Daniele Si Nasce, Devis Manoni, Silva Perentin, and the actors Daniela Poggi, 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 Spanish Roman Catholic titular archbishops

Biography

Diplomatic career

Prize and awards

See also

References

External links