Pope appointed Ivan Yurkovich nuncio in Canada

Olga Sakun – Vatican City

Ivan Yurkovich was born in Kochevye (Slovenia) and was ordained a presbyter in 1977. After graduating from the theological faculty in Ljubljana, he studied at the Pontifical Church Academy and in 1984 entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, taking the post of secretary of the Pontifical Mission in South Korea. In 1988, after completing his doctorate in canon law, he was appointed financial auditor at the Pontifical Office in Colombia, where he remained until 1992. From 1992 to 1996 he was an advisor to the representation of the Holy See in the Russian Federation, then worked in the Vatican State Secretariat. In 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Monsignor Yurkovich as Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus, and in 2004 in Ukraine. On February 19, 2011, Monsignor Yurkovich became Apostolic Nuncio to the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan. Since February 13, 2016, he has been a permanent observer at the UN in Geneva and other international organizations.