New papal nuncio arrives tomorrow

MANILA, Philippines - New papal nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto is expected to arrive in the country tomorrow morning, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday.

CBCP secretary-general Monsignor Juanito Figura, through the Church news service provider CBCPNews, said Pinto would arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 9:50 a.m. via Cathay Pacific.

Pinto will be welcomed by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar, and other bishops.

Pinto, of Italian descent, is the 15th papal representative and the 10th apostolic nuncio to the Philippines. 

Pope Benedict XVI officially appointed Pinto on May 10 as the successor of Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, who ended his term as the papal nuncio to the Philippines last May 7.

After three years of assignment to the Philippines, Adams will be reassigned to Greece.

Pinto holds a doctorate in Canon Law and is fluent in Italian, French, English, and Spanish.

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on May 1, 1984. He had been posted in Papua New Guinea, Argentina, and at the Vatican City state secretariat.

Pinto also served as apostolic nuncio to Senegal, Cape Verde, Mali, and Guinea-Bissau, and as apostolic delegate to Mauritania.

As apostolic nuncio, Pinto is tasked to strengthen ties between the pope and the president.