The Vatican press office announced the appointment today of the prelate, who will fill a vacancy left by Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro after he was named secretary of the Congregation for Bishops last month.
Archbishop Fratini has served the last five years as nuncio in Nigeria.
Born in Urbisaglia, on the eastern side of Italy, he was ordained a priest at age 25.
He entered the Holy See’s diplomatic service in 1974, and has worked in the Papal representations in Japan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Greece, Ecuador, Jerusalem, Palestine and France.
In 1993, Father Fratini was named nuncio to Pakistan, and was ordained a bishop a couple of months later.
Over a period of 11 years, Archbishop Fratini served as the nuncio in Indonesia, Timor-Leste and then Nigeria.
The World Tourism Organization, in which 153 member states are represented, has been an agency of the United Nations since 2003. Its headquarters are located in Madrid.
