Kochi: Pope Francis has appointed Keralite priest Monsignor Jain Mendez as permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Monday.The priest, who hails from the Varapuzha archdiocese, was a nunciature counsellor and until now served at the pontifical representation in the Dominican Republic. Church sources said that although the office of the permanent observer is in Madrid, Spain, he will reside in the Vatican. As the permanent observer of the UNWTO, he will represent the Holy See at all international meetings and conferences of the UNWTO. Monsignor Jain was ordained as a priest on Jan 29, 1992, by Cornelius Elanjickal, the then metropolitan archbishop of the Verapoly archdiocese. He served at apostolic nunciatures in Uganda, Panama, Uruguay, the Philippines, Guatemala, Senegal, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Germany and the Dominican Republic.