Apostolic Nuncio visits NQ
LITTLE did 70 year old Archbishop Charles Balvo expect when he was in Rome last year that the Holy Father would ask him to take up the vacant post in Australia.
“It had been my first visit to Rome since Covid had restricted travel and this was the last thing I thought I would be asked after spending 35 years in the Vatican’s diplomatic service,” Archbishop Charles said.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Archbishop Balvo presented his credentials to the Governor-general of Australia on April 1 – the 17th anniversary of his first appointment as an Apostolic Nuncio, to New Zealand and the islands of the Pacific.
Archbishop Balvo said the task of any Apostolic Nuncio is to be “the eyes, ears, hands, if you will, of the Holy Father, an extension of the Holy Father’s Ministry, because the Holy Father has his concern for the Church, all aspects of its life”.
Having served in New Zealand, Archbishop Balvo said he had visited Australia on a few occasions, including for a meeting of the bishops of Oceania and for World Youth Day 2008 and had met the late Bishop Michael Putney on a number of occasions.
With his new appointment, he knows visiting the local Churches and meeting with the People of God will be the best way to get to know the bishops and the faithful, that is the main reason he accepted Bishop Tim’s invitation to visit Townsville.
“That’s how you see what are the conditions of the Church. You talk to people and let people talk to you.”
Given that Australia is almost 100 times the size of the Czech Republic, Archbishop Balvo knows that getting to all 28 geographical dioceses won’t be easy, but he’s committed to doing that.
“Even when I was in the Czech Republic and Prague, some people would say “Would you really come to our little parish?” and I did. It doesn’t matter how many people are there. It’s a question of being the personal contact and to understand in some way the life of the Church in the country to which you are sent,” he said.
“So, it is my intention to do that and to travel as much as possible, that is why I am here in Townsville this week. I have had a wonderful time meeting people, visiting schools and getting an understanding of what are the challenges and successes here in Townsville.”