Pope Francis recently appointed Arnaldo Catalan, a Filipino priest as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Rwanda.

An apostolic nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or an international organization.

Catalan, 55, is an Archbishop-elect in the Archdiocese of Manila in the Philippines, and happens to be the first priest from the Archdiocese to become an apostolic nuncio.

In his new role as the Papal ambassador to Rwanda, he replaces Archbishop Andrzej Jozwowicz, a Polish prelate who served in the position from 2017 to mid-last year.

Catalan was ordained to the priesthood in 1994 and has been working in the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See for at least two decades, according to the Archdiocese of Manila.

He has previously worked as Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in China since 2019, in addition to serving in the apostolic Nunciatures in Zambia, India, Kuwait, Turkey, Argentina, Canada, and even the Philippines.

In a statement, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula extended his gratitude to Pope Francis for appointing Archbishop-elect Catalan.

"His Eminence Jose Cardinal F. Advincula, Archbishop of Manila, thanks the Holy Father for this gift and honor and considers the appointment of Archbishop-elect Catalan as historic, being the first priest of the Archdiocese of Manila to become a nuncio,” Cardinal Advincula is quoted saying.

In July last year, President Paul Kagame hosted Catalan’s predecessor Archbishop Andrzej Jozwowicz, for a farewell meeting at Village Urugwiro, as he was concluding his work in Rwanda.

Following Jozwowicz’s term of service in Rwanda, Pope Francis posted him to Iran.

An apostolic nuncio is generally equivalent in rank to that of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, although in some countries the nuncio often ranks above ambassadors in diplomatic protocol.

A nuncio performs the same functions as an ambassador and has the same diplomatic privileges. 

Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, to which the Holy See is a party, a nuncio is an ambassador like those from any other country.

Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Rwanda were established on July 17, 1929, when Pope Pius XI created an apostolic delegation that, at the time, consisted of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.

On June 6, 1964, following the decision by Pope Paul VI and the Government of Rwanda, diplomatic relations between the two were formally established with the election of an Apostolic Nuncio sent to Rwanda and the nomination of the first ambassador of Rwanda to the Vatican.