Pope Francis Appoints Chinese-born Salesian Archbishop Apostolic Nuncio to Libya

Aboard the papal plane, 18 May, 2023 / 8:33 PM

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, a native of China and member of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Libya.

The Apostolic Nunciature in Libya has been vacant since April 2022 following the retirement of Archbishop Alessandro D’Errico who had served as the Pope’s representative in the North African nation since June 2017.

Archbishop Hon Tai-Fai’s appointment as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Libya was made public on Thursday, May 18, and published by the Holy See Press Office.

Born in China’s Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong in October 1950, the newly appointed representative of the Holy Father in Libya was ordained a Priest in July 1982.

In December 2010, he was appointed Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and assigned the Titular See of Sila for which he Consecrated Bishop in February 2011.

In June 2016, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Agaña Archdiocese in Guam, a United States island territory in Micronesia, the Western Pacific, a position he held until October 2016.

The Vatican Diplomat, who also served as a member of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was first appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Greece in September 2017, and to Malta in October 2022.

The Catholic Church leader who was responsible for the translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church into Chinese is set to become the fifth Apostolic Nuncio of the Libyan Nunciature that was initially established as a Delegation to Libya in February 1965 before being elevated to the Nunciature of Libya in March 1997.