"Glad to go to a country in distress. It is an opportunity to serve the Church with strength and vigour". This is the frame of mind in which mgr. Francis Assisi Chullikat, who has been appointed apostolic nuncio to Iraq and Jordan on April 29th by Benedict XVI, is getting ready for his new mission. It was disclosed by himself just before his ordination as a bishop which is going to take place in Ernakulam (India) on June 25th. In an interview with the religious information agency Sar news (South Asian religious news), the new nuncio stated that "the Vatican is working hard to promote peace in Iraq. The Catholic Church, although it is just a small minority, is playing a vibrant role in the defence of human rights and in acts of solidarity. The decision of the nuns of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, not to leave the country at war, offers great evidence of such a commitment". The ordination ceremony will be celebrated by mgr. Giovanni Lajolo, Secretary of State of the Section for Relations with the State of the Secretariat of State, in which mgr. Chullikat was Councillor of the Nunciature. Mgr. Francis Assisi Chullikat, 53, was born in Bolghatty (India) on March 20th 1953. A graduate in Canon Law, he was ordained priest on June 3rd 1978. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on July 15th 1988 and worked in the Papal agencies in Honduras, Southern Africa, the Philippines, at the UN in New York, and finally in the Section for Relations with the State of the Secretariat of State. He speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish.
