The new papal nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles John Brown, received a wooden image of the “Our Lady of Edsa” on Monday, November 30.
Father Lari Abaco, rector of Edsa Shrine, gave the prelate the “welcome gift” when the priest paid a courtesy visit at the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila.
Archbishop Brown, the new apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, arrived in Manila on Sunday, November 29, to assume his duties as the pope’s envoy to the country.
He was welcomed through a telephone call by Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, president of the bishops’ conference, after Mass.
Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Brown as Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines on Sept. 28, 2020. Prior to his new assignment, he was Apostolic Nuncio to Albania since March 2017.
He replaced Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, who now heads the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission in the United Nations in New York.
As papal envoy, Archbishop Brown will represent the Vatican State to the Philippine government, while also playing a crucial role in representing the pope to the Catholic Church in the Philippines.
In many Catholic countries like the Philippines, the nuncio is also the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.
