Monsignor Georgio Zur, titular Archbishop of Sesta, Apostolic Nuncio, who had served the church in India and Nepal first as Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature and years later, from 1990 to 1998, as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in India and Nepal passed away on the night between Jan 7-8 in Rome.
Pope Francis offered Tuesday’s Mass for the eternal rest of Archbishop Giorgio Zur.
In a statement, the Secretariat of State in Vatican informed the sad demise of His Excellency, “May Christ the Good Shepherd, in whom the late Archbishop firmly believed during his generous service to the Holy See and the church in India, Nepal and worldwide, grant him the deserved reward and welcome him in His joy and peace.”
Archbishop Giorgio Zur was born on Feb 15, 1930 in Gorlitz, Germany. The son of a master tailor, he studied in Rome at the Gregorian University, where he obtained a licentiate in philosophy and theology and a doctorate in canon law. On 10 October 1955 Giorgio Zur was ordained to the priesthood. After pastoral work as a chaplain in the Archdiocese of Bamberg, he attended in 1961-62 the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, later becoming its director from 1999 to 2000. In the following years he was in the diplomatic service of the Holy See at the Apostolic Nunciature to India, Mexico, Burundi and Uganda.
Pope John Paul II appointed him on 5 February 1979 as the Titular Archbishop of Sesta and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Malawi and Zambia. He was consecrated on 24 February of the same year by the then Secretary of State Cardinal Jean-Marie Villot. The co-consecrators were later cardinal and Secretary of State, Agostino Casaroli, as well as the secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Archbishop Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy. On 3 May 1985 George was appointed the Apostolic Nuncio to Paraguay. He held this office until 13 August 1990, when the Pope appointed him Pro-Nuncio to India and Nepal.
In 1985 he was transferred as Apostolic Nuncio to Paraguay, and in 1980 he came back to India as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio, serving this country for eight years. In 1998 he was called to be the President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. Two years later he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Russian Federation and in 2002 to Austria. He retired on July 25, 2005.
After working at the Ecclesiastical Academy, Zur was from 29 January 2000 to 8 October 2002 nuncio to Russia and from 8 October 2002 to 26 July 2005 nuncio in Austria. Having reached the age limit for bishops he retired and took up residence in Rome.
Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX, Secretary General, Catholic Bishops’ Council of India (CBCI) offered condolences and said, “We remember with gratitude his services to the Church in India. May the Good Lord reward him abundantly for all his work in His vineyard.”