Pope names apostolic nuncio to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis yesterday announced the appointment of Italian Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia as the new apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.

CBCPNews said the Vatican announced Archbishop Caccia’s appointment at noon (6 p.m., Manila time) yesterday, a day after the pontiff arrived back in Rome from a five-day apostolic visit to Colombia.

At the time of his new assignment, Caccia was the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, a position he has held for the past eight years or since 2009.

The 59-year-old Caccia’s new post in Manila will be his second assignment as papal ambassador.

Caccia is a native of Milan, Italy. He was born on Feb. 24, 1958 and was ordained as a priest on June 11, 1983. 

In September 2009, Caccia was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

Prior to his appointment in Lebanon, Caccia was the assessor for general affairs of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

Caccia replaces Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, who served as apostolic nuncio to the Philippines from May 10, 2011 until July 1, 2017. Pinto was assigned as apostolic nuncio to Croatia.