José Sebastián Laboa Gallego (20 January 1923 – 24 October 2002) was a Spanish-

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

prelate of the Catholic Church who worked 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 ...

. Early in his career he held posts in the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

. He was also involved in

Operation Nifty Package Operation Nifty Package was a United States Delta Force and Navy SEAL-operated plan conducted in 1989 designed to capture Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. When Noriega took refuge in the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See (diplomatic quarter) ...

, convincing Panamian leader

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno ( , ; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially serv ...

to surrender himself to American forces on 3 January 1990.

Biography

José Sebastián Laboa Gallego was born in Pasai San Juan,

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

, Spain, on 20 January 1923. He was ordained a priest on 16 April 1949. He earned a degree in theology at the Comillas Pontifical University of Madrid and a doctorate in canon law at 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 worked in the Roman Curia where his assignments included stints as secretary to Cardinal Gaetano Cicognani and as the person responsible for Latin America at the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

. On 18 December 1982,

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 ...

named him a titular archbishop and

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 ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. He received his episcopal consecration from Pope John Paul on 6 January 1983. On 21 August 1990, Pope John Paul appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Paraguay. On 18 March 1995, Pope John Paul named him Apostolic Nuncio to Malta and on 28 October Apostolic Delegate to Libya. He retired when replaced in these posts on 13 June 1998. Laboa died on 24 October 2002 in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop José Sebastián Laboa Gallego
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laboa Gallego, Jose Sebastian 1923 births 2002 deaths Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Apostolic nuncios to Panama Apostolic nuncios to Libya Apostolic nuncios to Malta Apostolic nuncios to Paraguay Officials of the Roman Curia People from Pasaia Spanish expatriates in Italy Spanish expatriates in Panama Spanish expatriates in Paraguay Spanish expatriates in Malta Spanish expatriates in Libya Basque Roman Catholic priests Comillas Pontifical University alumni