The Apostolic Nunciature to the Central African Republic is an ecclesiastical office 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 ...

in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. It is a diplomatic post 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 ...

, whose representative is called the

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 ...

with the rank of an ambassador. The nuncio resides in

Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...

, the capital city. The Apostolic Nuncio to the Central African Republic is usually also the Apostolic Nuncio to

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

upon his appointment to said nation. The Holy See represented its interests in the region through its Delegation to Central Africa erected on 3 April 1965. With the decolonization of Africa in the mid-20th century, it established relationships with the new independent countries of that continent. The Central African Republic gained its independence from France in 1960. The Holy See established its Nunciature to Malawi and named its first pro-nuncio on 4 November 1967.

List of papal representatives to the Central African Republic

;Apostolic Delegate to

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

Luigi Poggi Luigi Poggi (25 November 1917 – 4 May 2010) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate, nuncio, and spymaster who led The Entity, the foreign intelligence service of the Holy See. Made titular bishop of Forontoniana in 1965 upon assignment as ...

(3 April 1965 – 4 November 1967) ;Apostolic Pro-Nuncio *

(4 November 1967 – 21 May 1969) *

Mario Tagliaferri Mario Tagliaferri (1 June 1927 – 21 May 1999) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1970 and served as an Apostolic Nuncio from then until his dea ...

(5 March 1970 – 25 June 1975) * Oriano Quilici (15 November 1975 – 26 June 1981) *

John Bulaitis John Bulaitis (26 June 1933 – 25 December 2010) was a Lithuanian prelate of the Catholic Church who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He served terms as Apostolic Nuncio to several countries between 1981 and 2008. John Bulai ...

(21 November 1981 – 11 July 1987) ;Apostolic

Nuncios 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 a ...

Diego Causero Diego Causero (born 13 January 1940) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. From 1992 to 2015, he served as the head of the Vatican's diplomatic mission in several African a ...

(1 February 1993 – 31 March 1999) *

Joseph Chennoth Joseph Chennoth (13 October 1943 – 8 September 2020) was a Syro Malabar Catholic prelate who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop and an apostolic nuncio in 1999. He was ordained a priest on 4 May 1969 ...

(24 August 1999 – 15 June 2005) *

Pierre Nguyên Van Tot Pierre Nguyên Van Tot (Vietnamese: ; born 15 April 1949) is a Vietnamese prelate of the Catholic Church and a diplomat of the Holy See. Biography Pierre Nguyên Van Tot was born on 15 April 1949 in Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương Provi ...

(24 August 2005 – 13 May 2008) *

Jude Thaddeus Okolo Jude Thaddeus Okolo KC*HS (born 18 December 1956) is a prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1990. He has been an archbishop since 2008 and held the post of Apostolic Nuncio in several co ...

(2 August 2008 – 7 October 2013) *

Franco Coppola Franco Coppola (born in Maglie on 31 March 1957) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium and Luxembourg since 2021. He has served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1993. Biography Co ...

(31 January 2014 – 9 July 2016) *

Santiago de Wit Guzmán Santiago de Wit Gúzman (born 5 September 1964) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography He was born in the city of Valencia on 5 September 1964. He was ordained a priest fo ...

(21 March 2017 – 30 July 2022) *

Giuseppe Laterza Giuseppe Laterza (born 12 November 1970) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Mons. Giuseppe Laterza was born on 12 November 1970 in Conversano, Bari, Italy. He was ordai ...

(5 January 2023 – present)

References

{{Diplomatic missions in the Central African Republic

Central African Republic–Holy See relations