Pope Francis has appointed a Filipino archbishop to carry out an important mission in the Holy Land, the birthplace of Christianity, reported CBCP News.

In a statement on Thursday, the Vatican announced that the new apostolic nuncio to Israel and Cyprus is Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana.

At the same time, the pope named the 73-year-old as apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine.

Prior to his appointment, Archbishop Yllana has been serving as apostolic nuncio to Australia since 2015.

He succeeds Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, who was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to India in March.

The prelate has represented the Holy See on four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Born in Naga City on Feb. 6, 1948, Archbishop Yllana was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Caceres on March 19, 1972.

He later earned a doctorate in civil and canon law and entered the Ecclesiastical Academy, the Holy See’s school of diplomacy.

After his studies, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, serving successively at Pontifical Representations in Ghana, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Lebanon, Hungary, and Taiwan.

In December 2001, St. John Paul II appointed him as apostolic nuncio to Papua New Guinea and consecrated him bishop on January 6, 2002, in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Subsequently, he entrusted him with the leadership of the nunciature in the Solomon Islands.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as apostolic nuncio to Pakistan and apostolic nuncio to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010.

In February 2015, Pope Francis appointed him as apostolic nuncio to Australia.

Archbishop Yllana is one of the three Filipino apostolic nuncios who are active in the service. The others are Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the nuncio to Spain, and Archbishop Francisco Padilla, the nuncio to Guatemala.

Pope Francis has offered repeated pleas and prayers for peace in the Middle East, where violence has persisted over the past several weeks.

“With particular concern, I am following the events that are happening in Jerusalem,” the Holy Father said on May 9. “I pray that it may be a place of encounter and not of violent clashes, a place of prayer and peace.

“I invite everyone to seek shared solutions so that the multireligious and multicultural identity of the Holy City is respected and brotherhood prevails. Violence begets violence. Enough with the clashes.”