Vatican city: Filipino Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana has retired from the Holy See's diplomatic service, which he served for 42 years.
According to Philippines News Agency, an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News stated that Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of the 77-year-old prelate as apostolic nuncio to Israel and apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine upon reaching the age limit. The resignation was announced through a bulletin issued on January 22. Yllana is two years beyond the mandatory retirement age for bishops.
He will be succeeded by Italian Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, 65, who has served as apostolic nuncio to Croatia since 2019. The archbishop entered the Vatican's diplomatic service in 1984 and represented the Holy See across four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Before his appointment to Israel in June 2021 by Pope Francis, he served as apostolic nuncio to Australia beginning in 2015. Born in Naga City, Yllana was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Caceres in 1972. He completed his studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and was assigned to papal missions in Ghana, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Lebanon, Hungary, and Taiwan.
In December 2001, Pope St. John Paul II appointed him apostolic nuncio to Papua New Guinea and later entrusted him with the nunciature in the Solomon Islands. He was ordained a bishop on January 6, 2002, at St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Benedict XVI named Yllana apostolic nuncio to Pakistan and to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006 and in 2010, respectively.
