Antuan Ilgit, S.J. (born 22 June 1972) is a Turkish-Italian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has been an auxiliary bishop of the Vicariate of Anatolia since 2023. A member of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, he has been vicar general and chancellor of that vicariate since 2022. He completed his priestly formation and education in Italy and the United States. His research focuses on bioethics and examines disability, sexual morality and interreligious dialogue with Islam.

Biography

Antuan Ilgit was born on 22 June 1972 in

Hersbruck Hersbruck () is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. It is best known for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the landscape of Hersbruck Switzerland. ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, to a family of Turkish immigrants and raised a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. His father was a fisherman and his mother a homemaker. He moved with his family to Turkey as a child and was raised in

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

. Though fluent in several languages, he does not know German. He entered university planning on a career in government administration or teaching. In 1994 he received a four-year degree in Public Administration from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at

Gazi University Gazi University () is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded in 1926 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk originally as the Gazi Education Institute (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Gazi Eğitim Ens ...

in Ankara. After completing his degree he performed his military service in Ankara and there in 1995 began to explore the Christian faith. He converted to Catholicism from

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in 1997. Speaking of his Muslim heritage in 2010, he said: After exploring his vocation with the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

for several years, on 1 November 2005 he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Genoa, Italy. He made his first vows in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

in 2007 and was ordained a deacon on 18 April 2009 in Venice. He was ordained a priest on 26 June 2010 at the

Church of the Gesù The Church of the Gesù (, ), officially named (), is a church located at Piazza del Gesù in the Pigna (rione of Rome), Pigna ''Rioni of Rome, rione'' of Rome, Italy. It is the mother church of the Society of Jesus (best known as Jesuits). Wi ...

in Rome by Cardinal

Giovanni Lajolo Giovanni Lajolo (born 3 January 1935) is an Italian cardinal and former president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Early life and ordination Giovanni Lajolo was born on 3 ...

. He celebrated his first Mass a week later at the Church of Saint Teresa of Lisieux in Ankara. He is the first Jesuit to hold Turkish citizenship. Since 2013 he has dual citizenship, Turkish and Italian. He earned a bachelor's degree in theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in 2008. He did a year of studies at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had bee ...

and obtained a licentiate in

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

with a focus on

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

at the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, Alphonsus Liguori, whose teachings inspired the establishment of the Academy. The Pontifical Alphonsian Academy (; ), also commonly known as the Alphonsianum, is a pontifical institution of higher education founded in 1949 by the Redempt ...

of the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

in 2011. His thesis "A Comparison between Issues Related to the Beginning of Life in Turkish Bioethics and the Teaching of the Catholic Church" considered issues regarding

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from t ...

, and the use of embryonic stem cells based on research analyzing Turkish laws regulating biomedical research, statements of the Union of

Turkish Medical Association The Turkish Medical Association (, abbreviated as TTB) is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in Turkey. Its membership of 110,000 as of the year 2020, covers 80% of Turkey's doctors.TTBTürk Tabipleri Birliği; Ne ...

, and the decisions and studies of the

Presidency of Religious Affairs A presidency is an Administration (government), administration or the Executive (government), executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of President (government title), president of a state or na ...

of Turkey. He received a master's degree in healthcare ethics from

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 2013. He earned his doctoral degree in moral theology at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

School of Theology and Ministry in 2017 with a dissertation entitled "Muslim and Catholic Perspectives on Disability in the Contemporary Context of Turkey: A Proposal for Muslim-Christian Dialogue". While studying there, he participated in the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) program, an interdisciplinary engagement in contemporary ethics. He also assisted at St. Leonard's Parish in Boston's traditionally Italian North End neighborhood. His assignments have included stints as assistant to the parish priest of the Turkish-speaking Catholic community of Meryemana (Ankara) while serving as bursar of the Jesuit community in 2010-2011; animator, formator and spiritual father at the Pontifical Interregional Seminary of the Campania Region in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

from 2017 to 2020; and lecturer in moral theology and bioethics at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy from 2017 to 2023. From September 2020 to April 2021, he did his final year of Jesuit formation in

Salamanca, Spain Salamanca () is a municipality and city in Spain, capital of the province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the Meseta Norte, in the northwestern quadrant ...

. He spent the next year in Iskenderun, the headquarters of the vicariate of Anatolia, and in 2022 he became vicar general and chancellor of the vicariate of Anatolia, as well as the national coordinator for youth and vocational pastoral care of the Turkish Episcopal Conference. Following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria of 6 February 2023 that destroyed the cathedral and much of

İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...

, he organized relief services in cooperation with the other local Christian communities. On 19 November 2022, he made his final vows as a Jesuit in Ankara. In July 2023, he led a group of Turkish students to participate in

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

in Lisbon, where they met with Pope Francis. He has met Pope Francis on several other occasions, once serving as translator when the pope met with Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named him titular bishop of Tubernuca and auxiliary bishop of the Vicariate of Anatolia on 28 August 2023. He is the first Turk named a bishop since the papal nuncio

Julio Murat Julio Murat (born 18 August 1961) is a Turkish prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has been an archbishop and a papal nuncio since 2012. Biography Julio Murat was born on 18 August 1961 in İz ...

in 2012. He received his episcopal consecration on 25 November in the Basilica of St. Anthony of Istanbul.

Publications

* Includes table of contents.

Notes

References

;Additional sources * His report of the 2023 earthquake and its aftermath.

External links

LinkedIn entry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilgit, Antuan 1972 births People from Mersin Turkish Roman Catholic bishops Turkish Jesuits Turkish former Sunni Muslims Living people Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Lateran University alumni Converts to Roman Catholicism from Sunni Islam