Antonio Maria Vegliò is an Italian Archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, who has served as Vatican diplomat

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 and in the Roman Curia

Roman Curia

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...

. He is currently President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants

The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants is a dicastery of the Roman Curia...

.

Early life and ordination

Born in Macerata Feltria

Macerata Feltria

Macerata Feltria is a comune in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 90 km west of Ancona and about 40 km southwest of Pesaro....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, he was ordained a priest for the diocese of Pesaro

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pesaro

The archdiocese of Pesaro is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in central Italy. Its see at Pesaro was elevated in status to archiepiscopal see in 2000. Its suffragans are the diocese of Fano-Fossombrone-Cagli-Pergola and the archdiocese of Urbino-Urbania-Sant'Angelo in Vado.-History:The...

 in 1962.

Nuncio

He was appointed Titular Archbishop of Eclano in 1985 on was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio

Nuncio

Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...

 to Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

 and Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

. In 1989, Vegliò was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

, Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

, Cape Verde

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

, and Mali

Mali

Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

 and promoted to full Apostolic Nuncio in 1994. He served as Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 and Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

 from 1997 to 1999.

Curial work

In 2001, Archbishop Vegliò became Secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Oriental Churches

Congregation for the Oriental Churches

The Congregation for the Oriental Churches is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical,...

 and, in 2009, the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants

The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants is a dicastery of the Roman Curia...

.

Rights of migrants

In August 2009, he lamented the deaths of more than 70 Eritreans trying to reach Italy in a boat and implicitly criticized the Berlusconi government’s tough new policies on immigration.

Swiss ban on minarets

Vegliò declared that the popular vote held in Switzerland against the construction of additional minarets was a heavy blow for religious freedom and integration in that country. His colleague Agostino Marchetto expressed a somewhat different view, arguing that the Swiss vote did not compromise religious freedom.

External links

• Catholic-Hierarchy.org