Antonio Sozzo (born 9 May 1942) is an Italian prelate of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, including for twenty years as apostolic nuncio, before he retired in 2015.
Biography
Antonio Sozzo was born on 9 May 1942 in
Paola
Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include:
People In arts and entertainment
* Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer
*Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...
in
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Verona on August 28, 1971.
Diplomatic career
He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 12 July 1976. He worked in Panama, Uruguay, Nigeria, Chile, Germany, Morocco, and Spain, and in the nunciature in Brussels from 1991 to 1993.
[
On 5 August 1995, ]Pope 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 ...
appointed him Titular Archbishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of Concordia 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 ...
to Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
and to Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, as well as Apostolic Delegate to Libya.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 17 July 2003, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. In 2010, after several Christians, including one Catholic priest, were forced to leave Morocco on short notice after being charged with undermining the faith of Muslims, Sozzo insisted that the Church adhere to Morocco's law against proselytizing. He resigned on 16 September 2015 at the age of 73 and was awarded the Order of Ouissam Alaouite
The Order of Ouissam Alaouite () or the Sharifian Order of Al-Alaoui is a military decoration of Morocco which is bestowed by the King of Morocco upon those civilians and military officers who have displayed heroism in combat or have contribute ...
by King Mohammed VI
Mohammed VI (; born 21 August 1963) is King of Morocco. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II.
Upon ascending to the throne, Mohammed initially introduced several ...
the next day.
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 ...
References
External links
Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Antonio Sozzo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sozzo, Antonio
Living people
1942 births
Apostolic nuncios to Costa Rica
Apostolic nuncios to Morocco
Apostolic nuncios to Algeria
Apostolic nuncios to Tunisia
People from Paola, Calabria