Meeting between the Prior General, Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., and the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Indonesia

The Prior General, Desiderio García Martínez, met on September 27 in Jakarta, at the end of our General Chapter (Malang, September 9-26, 2025), with His Excellency Monsignor Piero Pioppo, Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Indonesia and to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He was accompanied on the visit by Ignatius Budiono, O. Carm., and Stanislaus Lirmanjayasastra, O. Carm.

Archbishop Pioppo informed us that the Holy Father, after eight years in Indonesia, has appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and the Principality of Andorra. He confessed his admiration for the Spanish people and culture, as well as for Carmelite spirituality, which has helped and continues to support the Church so much. The Nuncio was interested in the career of the new Prior General and in how the General Chapter had gone. He congratulated us on the courage of the Order in daring to hold it in the East.

The Prior General explained the theme of the Chapter, the current challenges facing religious life, the significance of the Carmelite charism for the Church and the world, the expansion of our Order in Asia, the challenge of the Christian family and the associated pastoral care of vocations, how our charism is a word of hope for the suffering of the innocent, etc. He then informed him of the members of the new General Council and invited him to share a meal and visit the communities of our friars in Madrid. The Prior General, on behalf of the General Chapter, presented him with a seated image of the Virgin Mary.

Monsignor Pioppo, interested in the new evangelization, insisted that hope is still alive and that some Spanish bishop friends during World Youth Day in Lisbon informed him that there is a resurgence of youth in the Spanish Church. He showed his knowledge of the history of the Spanish transition period and recalled some illustrious figures linked to the Church at that time (among them Cardinal Tarancón). He congratulated us and asked about our brother, Monsignor Filippo Ianonne, recently named Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.