Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Jurkovič new nuncio to Canada

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič as Apostolic Nuncio to Canada. Archbishop Jurkovič has been serving as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, to the World Trade Organization and, also as the Holy See's Representative to the International Organization for Migration.

Born in Kočevje, in southern Slovenia, Ivan Jurkovič was ordained a priest on 29 June 1977. He graduated in theology from the University of Ljubljana, then trained as a diplomat at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. In 1984 he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, serving as secretary at the nunciature in South Korea. In 1988 he received his doctorate in canon law and until 1992 served as financial auditor at the nunciature in Colombia. From 1992 to 1996 he worked at the nunciature in Russia. 

He also taught dedicated his time to teaching as a university lecturer in canon law, philosophy, theology and history, publishing several books. He  served as a a consultant at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

On July 28, 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Archbishop Jurkovič titular archbishop of Krbava and apostolic nuncio to Belarus. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 October in Ljubljana from Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and was then appointed nuncio to Ukraine on 22 April 2004.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him nuncio to Russia on 19 February 2011, just over a year after the official establishment of full diplomatic relations between Russia and the Holy See. In the same year, he was appointed nuncio to Uzbekistan. 

On 13 February 2016, Pope Francis chose him for the role of Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva. His latest diplomatic assignment will take him to Canada.