Koru Tito Explained

Type:Priest
Koru Tito
Honorific-Prefix:Monsignor
Bishop-elect of Tarawa and Nauru
Church:Catholic Church
Diocese:Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru
Appointed:29 June 2020
Predecessor:Paul Mea
Ordination:20 June 1987
Birth Date:1960 9, df=yes
Birth Place:Buota, North Tabiteuea, Gilbert Islands
Death Place:South Tarawa, Kiribati
Previous Post:Vicar general of the Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru
Alma Mater:Pontifical Angelicum University

Koru Tito (30 September 1960 – 7 August 2022) was an I-Kiribati priest of the Roman Catholic Church who was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru on 29 June 2020 but was not consecrated a bishop before his death.

Biography

Tito was born on 30 September 1960 in North Tabiteuea, in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands of present-day Kiribati. He earned a diploma in education at the University of the South Pacific in Suva (1977–1979). He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Pacific Regional Seminary in Fiji (1981–1985). Tito was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru on 20 June 1987.[1] He was the youngest of 10 siblings from his father (Tito) and mother (Ioana).

Tito spent a year at St. Paul's National Seminary in Kensington, New South Wales (1990–1991). He obtained a doctorate in theology with a specialization in spirituality at the Pontifical Angelicum University in Rome.[2]

After ordination he served in the following roles:

Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Tarawa and Nauru on 29 June 2020.[4] [5] At the time of his appointment Tito was not in good health.[6] He twice received dispensations from the requirement that he be consecrated a bishop without three months of his appointment because of travel restrictions imposed in the Pacific region due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020 he was diagnosed with serious kidney and heart problems. He was treated with some success in Kiribati, Fiji and New Zealand. He returned to Tarawa on 2 July and died there in the early hours of 7 August 2022 in Tungaru Central Hospital.[7]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Rinunce e Nomine, 29.06.2020 . it . Holy See Press Office . 18 August 2022 . 29 June 2020 .
  2. Web site: Congratulazioni all'Alumnus dell'Angelicum eletto vescovo Monsignor Koru Tito . 30 June 2020 . angelicum.it . 2 January 2021 . Italian.
  3. Web site: New Bishop for Kiribati. The Church Heritage of Kiribati . 5 July 2020 . Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Australia . 2 January 2021.
  4. Web site: Pope Francis appoints Bishop of Tarawa and Nauru . Vatican News . 29 June 2020 . 2 January 2021 .
  5. Web site: Dimissioni del Vescovo di Tarawa and Nauru e nomina del successore . Agenzia Fides . 30 June 2020 . 2 January 2021 . it.
  6. News: 28 March 2021 . Newly appointed Bishop to Kiribati, Nauru shares views on COVID-19, China/Taiwan . 7 July 2020 . ABC Radio Australia .
  7. Web site: Lutto nell'episcopato. 8 August 2022 . 18 August 2022 . it . L'Osservatore Romano . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220808161551/https://www.osservatoreromano.va/it/news/2022-08/quo-180/lutto-nell-episcopato.html . 8 August 2022.