Pope Francis appoints two Cebuano priests to Vatican positions

CEBU, Philippines — Two Cebuano priests have been appointed by Pope Francis to occupy positions in the Vatican.

According to the official Facebook page of the Archdiocese of Cebu, the pontiff appointed Msgr. Jan Thomas Limchua, as Counselor of the Apostolic Nunciature to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Fr. Hezron Jhud Cartagena, as Attaché of the Apostolic Nunciature to Ivory Coast.

“Both Msgr. Limchua and Fr. Cartagena are the third and fourth Cebuano priests, respectively, to enter the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See,” the Archdiocese said.

In an interview over Radio Veritas, Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu, believes that the Pope’s decision to appoint Filipino priests to the Vatican shows his immense trust in the capability of Filipinos to perform their responsibility as missionaries abroad.

Limchua had reportedly served as an official of the Holy See’s Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State for four years.

He was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Cebu in 2010 and underwent diplomatic formation at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the diplomatic school of the Vatican.

He then began his career in the diplomatic service in September 2014, and served at the Apostolic Nunciature of Benin and Togo in West Africa and in Egypt.

He completed his Theological studies at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarra in Pamplona Spain, while he took up his doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

Fr. Cartagena, on the other hand, completed his missionary year in Brazil and, with the new assignment, is now officially a part of the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See. — Evelyn Z. Macairan/FPL (CEBU NEWS)