Nunciature to the United States
Encyclopedia
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
of the Holy See
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...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Embassy Row
Embassy Row
Embassy Row is the informal name for a street or area of a city in which embassies or other diplomatic installations are concentrated. Washington, D.C.'s Embassy Row lies along Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., and its cross streets between Thomas Circle and Ward Circle, although the vast majority of...
neighborhood. The current Apostolic Nuncio is His Excellency, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò
Carlo Maria Viganò
Carlo Maria Viganò JUD is, since 19 October 2011, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. He previously served as Secretary-General of the Governatorate of Vatican City State, from 16 July 2009 to 3 September 2011.-Early life:...
, who was named to the position by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
on 19 October 2011.
The Nunciature to the United States of America is an ecclesiastical office 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with the rank of ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
. The nuncio serves both as the ambassador of the Pope (as head of State of Vatican City) to the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, and as delegate and point-of-contact between the Catholic hierarchy
Catholic Church hierarchy
The term Hierarchy in the Catholic Church has a variety of related usages. Literally, "holy government", the term is employed in different instances. There is a Hierarchy of Truths, which refers to the levels of solemnity of the official teaching of the faith...
in America and the Pope (as head of the church). The office of Apostolic Nuncio is currently always assigned to titular 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...
s. Because the nunciature to the United States is considered a highly important post and therefore is normally filled by a very experienced Vatican diplomat, historically nuncios to the United States have often been elevated to the rank of Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
shortly after their service, and been given senior posts within the Vatican itself.
The Apostolic Nunciature is an administrative center of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Communications from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
and the various dioceses in the United States to the Holy See pass through the nunciature. The nuncio also fills a central role in the appointment of bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s to episcopal offices in the country, and is the official responsible for making the announcement of an episcopal appointment.
The physical building which houses the offices of the apostolic nuncio and his staff is also called the Nunciature to the United States of America. It is exempt from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Washington (canon 366 1°).
History
The nunciature was established as the Delegation to the United States of America on January 24, 1893 with offices in the City of Washington in the District of Columbia led by an apostolic delegate. It was the result of an effort by the Holy See to establish communication between the PopePope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
(Leo XIII) and the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
(Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
). Formal relations however were not established until January 10, 1984 when the delegation was elevated to the rank of nunciature. The establishment of an embassy in the City of Washington was the result of an increased friendship of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
and President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
Staff
The staff of the nunciature includes the permanent and alternative observer to the Organization of American StatesOrganization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
, given that the OAS headquarters are in Washington.
Apostolic Delegate
The Holy See did not have official ties with the United States and its mission was headed by an apostolic delegate without the rank of ambassador. Apostolic delegates, unlike apostolic nuncios, exercise only ecclesiastical functions of oversight over the Catholic hierarchy of the country to which they were sent, while apostolic nuncios have the added responsibility of also acting as ambassadors of the Holy See before the government of the country where they serve. There were instances in which two official delegates served at the same time.- Francesco SatolliFrancesco SatolliFrancesco Satolli was an Italian Roman Catholic theologian, professor, Cardinal and the first Apostolic delegate to the United States.-Biography:He was born on 21 July 1839, at Marsciano near Perugia...
, January 14, 1893 – 1896 - Sebastiano MartinelliSebastiano MartinelliSebastiano Martinelli was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation of Rites.-Early life:...
, OSAAugustiniansThe term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
, April 18, 1896 – 1902 - Diomede FalconioDiomede FalconioDiomede Angelo Raffaele Gennaro Falconio, OFM was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for Religious from 1916 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911.-Biography:Diomede Falconio was born in Pescocostanzo as one of the five...
, OFM, September 30, 1902 – 1911 - Giovanni BonzanoGiovanni BonzanoGiovanni Vincenzo Cardinal Bonzano PIME was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Delegate to United States from 1912 to 1922, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1922.-Biography:...
, February 2, 1912 – December 11, 1922 - Pietro Fumasoni BiondiPietro Fumasoni BiondiPietro Fumasoni Biondi was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in the Roman Curia from 1933 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1933.-Biography:Pietro Fumasoni Biondi was born in Rome...
, December 14, 1922 – March 16, 1933 - Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, March 17, 1933 – November 14, 1959
- Egidio VagnozziEgidio VagnozziEdigio Vagnozzi was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the second president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967.-Biography:Egidio Vagnozzi was born in Rome to Francesco and Pasqua ...
, December 16, 1958 – January 13, 1968 - Luigi RaimondiLuigi RaimondiLuigi Raimondi was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1973 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1973....
, June 30, 1967 – March 21, 1973 - Jean JadotJean JadotJean Jadot was a Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as apostolic delegate to the United States from 1973 to 1980, and President of the Secretariat of Non-Christians from 1980 to 1984.-Biography:...
, May 23, 1973 – June 27, 1980 - Pio Laghi, December 10, 1980 – January 9, 1984
Apostolic Pro-Nuncio
The first Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop (later Cardinal) Pio Laghi, presented his credentials as Holy See ambassador to the United States in 1984 after the Holy See and the United States established full diplomatic relations. His title was pro-nuncio because at the time the Vatican gave the title of nuncio only to its ambassadors who enjoyed the rank of dean of the diplomatic corps to a country.- Pio Laghi, March 26, 1984 – April 6, 1990
- Agostino Cacciavillan, June 13, 1990 – November 5, 1998
Apostolic Nuncio
In 1990 and 1991 the Vatican quietly began to use the title of nuncio instead of pro-nuncio for its ambassadors who were not the deans of a country's ambassadorial corps, but it retained the pro-nuncio title for all those already appointed. In 1998, when President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
accepted the credentials of Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo Higuera as the third Vatican ambassador to the United States, he held the title of Apostolic Nuncio. Since 1993 the official Vatican yearbook, the Annuario Pontificio, has included an asterisk behind the title of those nuncios "che (per ora) non sono Decani del Corpo Diplomatico" -- "who (for now) are not deans of the diplomatic corps."
- Gabriel Montalvo HigueraGabriel Montalvo HigueraGabriel Montalvo Higuera was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He was an archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, and was the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 1998 until 2005.- Ministry and Assignments:...
, 7 December 1998 – 17 December 2005. - Pietro SambiPietro SambiPietro Sambi was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served in the Vatican's Secretariat of State. At the time of his death, he was the Titular Archbishop of Bellicastrum and the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States....
, 17 December 2005 – 27 July 2011. - Carlo Maria ViganòCarlo Maria ViganòCarlo Maria Viganò JUD is, since 19 October 2011, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. He previously served as Secretary-General of the Governatorate of Vatican City State, from 16 July 2009 to 3 September 2011.-Early life:...
19 October 2011 - present
See also
- Holy See–United States relationsHoly See–United States relationsUnited States – Holy See relations are bilateral relations between the United States and the Holy See. The principal U.S. official is Ambassador Miguel H. Diaz. The Holy See is represented by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who assumed office on October 19, 2011. The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is...
- United States Ambassadors to the Holy See
- Foreign relations of the Holy SeeForeign relations of the Holy SeeThe Holy See—which must be clearly distinguished from the city-state of Vatican City—has long been recognised as a subject of international law and as an active participant in international relations...
- List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See
- List of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States