Pope Francis has appointed the following priests to diplomatic positions:
-Archbishop Michael W. Banach as apostolic nuncio in Senegal and apostolic delegate in Mauritania. Msgr. Banach was formerly apostolic nuncio in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
– Msgr. Franciso Escalante Molina, nunciature counsellor, as apostolic nuncio in the Republic of Congo, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in La Grita, Venezuela, in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1989. He holds a degree in canon law and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1998, serving in the Papal Representations in Sudan, Ghana, Malta, Nicaragua, Japan and Slovenia.
– Msgr. Paul Fitzpatrick Russell, nunciature counsellor, as apostolic nuncio in Turkey and Turkmenistan, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1987. He holds a degree in canon law and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1997, serving in the General Affairs section of the Secretariat of State and in the Papal Representations in Ethiopia, Turkey, Switzerland, Nigeria and China.
