The new apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles John Brown, is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Sunday, November 29.
In a communiqué to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila said Archbishop Brown is expected to present his credentials in the coming days.
Filipino bishops welcomed the scheduled arrival of the papal nuncio as the country is set to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines next year.
“We wish His Excellency a fruitful, meaningful and memorable stay in our country,” said Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos.
Archbishop Brown will be coming from his home city, New York, where he spent a few weeks vacation after his tour of duty as nuncio to Albania.
Prior to starting his new mission, Archbishop Brown also met Pope Francis during a private audience in the Vatican on October 23.
The pope appointed the 61-year-old American archbishop as his new ambassador to the Philippines on September 28.
The post has been vacant since November 2019 when Archbishop Gabrielle Caccia was named head of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission in the United Nations in New York.