Ivan Jurkovič (born 10 June 1952) is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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 the Apostolic Nuncio to Canada since June 2021. He has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1984 and previously served as the Nuncio to Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and Uzbekistan.

Biography

Born in

Kočevje Kočevje (; ; ''Göttscheab'' or ''Gətscheab'' in the local Gottscheerish dialect; ) is a town and the seat of Municipality of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. Geography The town is located at the foot of the Kočevski Rog karst plateau on t ...

, southern

, Ivan Jurkovič was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 29 June 1977. Jurkovič obtained a

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

degree from the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

Diplomatic career

He was trained as a diplomat in the

Pontifical University A pontifical university or athenaeum is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and canon law (Catholic Church), Canon Law) and at least o ...

and entered the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in 1984, serving as a secretary in the Pontifical Representations in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. In 1988 he obtained Doctor of Canon Law degree from 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 ...

and from 1988 to 1992 served as a financial auditor in the Pontifical Representations in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. From 1992 to 1996 he was appointed as a consultant to the Apostolic Nunciature in Russia. At the same time, he served as Professor of Canon Law at the St. Thomas Institute of Philosophy, Theology and History in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he published the following books: ''Marriage Law'' (Moscow, 1993), ''Canon Law on the People of God'' (Moscow, 1993), ''Latin-Russian Dictionary of Terms and Expressions of the Code of Canon Law'' (with A. Koval, Moscow, 1995), ''Canon Law on the People of God and Marriage'' (Second edition, Moscow, 2000). Then he worked as a consultant in the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

. On 28 July 2001,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Krbava Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš and present Latin titular see. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as ...

and

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Jurkovič received his episcopal consecration on 6 October in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

from Cardinal Angelo Sodano, with Cardinal Franc Rode and Archbishop Edmond Y. Farhat serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. He was reassigned as Nuncio to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

on 22 April 2004. Jurkovič was named Nuncio to Russia on 19 February 2011, just fourteen months after the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Russia and the Holy See. On 22 July 2011 Jurkovič was named Nuncio to Uzbekistan as well. On 13 February 2016,

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 Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva. On 5 June 2021, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Canada. Jurkovič is a Conventual Chaplain Grand Cross ''ad honorem'' of the Sovereign Military Order of Hospitalers of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta.

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurkovic, Ivan 1952 births Living people Roman Catholic titular archbishops Slovenian Roman Catholic archbishops Apostolic nuncios to Belarus Apostolic nuncios to Ukraine Apostolic nuncios to Russia Permanent observers of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva Apostolic nuncios to Uzbekistan Apostolic nuncios to Canada University of Ljubljana alumni Knights of Malta Slovenian theologians People from Kočevje Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II

Biography

Diplomatic career

See also

References

External links