Antonio Arcari (born 8 May 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
and retired in 2023. He has been an archbishop and has held the rank of
Apostolic Nuncio
An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...
since 2003.
Biography
He was born on 8 May 1953 in
Pralboino
Pralboino (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 mil ...
, province of
Brescia
Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
, Italy. The
Bishop of Brescia
The Diocese of Brescia () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan, in Lombardy (Northwestern Italy).Luigi Morstabilini, ordained him a priest on 11 June 1977. On 23 September 1980,
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
awarded him on the honorary title of Chaplain to His Holiness (
Monsignor
Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...
).
Diplomatic career
On 18 July 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed him Titular Archbishop of
Caeciri
Caeciri was a Roman–Berber ''civitas'' (town) and ancient diocese in Africa Proconsularis. Its exact location is unknown, though it must have been in the Sahel, Tunisia region south of Algiers in modern Algeria.
History
Caeciri must have b ...
and
Apostolic Nuncio
An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...
in
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
. Episcopal consecration was given to him by Cardinal
Angelo Sodano
Angelo Raffaele Sodano (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and previously as the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006; S ...
on 20 September of the same year; Co-consecrators were Archbishop Bruno Foresti, Bishop Emeritus of Brescia, and
Giulio Sanguineti
Giulio Sanguineti (born 20 February, 1932 in Lavagna) is an Italian Catholic bishop, from 19 July 2007 bishop emeritus of Brescia.
Born in Santa Giulia di Centaura, Lavagna, in the province of Genoa and diocese of Chiavari, on 20 February 1932, ...
, Bishop of Brescia.
Pope
Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...
appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
on 12 December 2008.
On 5 July 2014,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
appointed him Apostolic Nuncio in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
.
On 25 May 2019, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio in
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, and he accepted Arcari's resignation from that post on 16 May 2023.
See also
*
List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See
The following is a sortable list of the heads of the diplomatic mission of the Holy See. An apostolic nuncio (also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic repres ...