Apostolic Nuncio To India
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to India is the diplomatic mission 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 ...
to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, similar to an embassy. Archbishop
Leopoldo Girelli Leopoldo Girelli (born 13 March 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as the apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal. He was nuncio to Israel and Cyprus as well as apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine from 2017 to 2 ...
was named
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 ...
by
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 ...
on 13 March 2021. He was formerly Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus. The
Apostolic Nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...
to India is an ecclesiastical office of the
Catholic Church in India The Catholic Church in India is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope. There are over 23 million Catholics in India,ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
. The nuncio serves both as the ambassador of the Pope (as head of
State of Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and seat of the Catholic Church. It became independent from the Kingdom of Italy i ...
) to the President of India, and as delegate and point-of-contact between the Catholic hierarchy in India and the Pope (as head of the
Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
). The Apostolic Nuncio to India is usually also the Apostolic Nuncio to Nepal.


History

The
diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...
was established as the
Apostolic Delegation 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 ...
to the East Indies in 1881, and included
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, and was extended to Malaca in 1889, and then to
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
in 1920, and eventually included
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
in 1923. It was raised to an Internunciature by
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
on 12 June 1948 and to a full
Apostolic Nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...
by
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
on 22 August 1967. Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) was detached in 1967, Burma (now Myanmar) in 1973 and Malaca, as part of modern
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, being detached in 1957.


List of papal representatives

;Apostolic Delegates *
Antonio Agliardi Antonio Agliardi (4 September 1832 – 19 March 1915) was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal, archbishop, and papal diplomat. Biography Agliardi was born at Cologno al Serio, in what is now the Province of Bergamo. He studied theology and cano ...
(23 September 1884 – 9 May 1887) * Andrea Aiuti (31 March 1887 – 24 July 1891) *
Wladyslaw Michal Zaleski Wladyslaw Michal Bonifacy Zaleski (also called ''Vladislovas Mykolas Zaleskis'' in Lithuanian language, Lithuanian or ''Ladislao Michele Zaleski'' in English, 1852 – 1925) was a Catholic archbishop, pioneer missionary, Apostolic Nunciature t ...
(15 March 1892 – 7 December 1916) *
Pietro Fumasoni Biondi Pietro Fumasoni Biondi (4 September 1872 – 12 July 1960) was an Italian prelate of the 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 in 196 ...
(15 November 1916 – 6 December 1919) *
Pietro Pisani Pietro Pisani (1871–1960) was a Catholic archbishop and diplomat 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 Cit ...
(15 December 1919 – 1924) *
Edward Aloysius Mooney Edward Aloysius Mooney (May 9, 1882 – October 25, 1958) was an American Catholic prelate who was Archbishop of Detroit from 1937 until his death in 1958. He was made a cardinal in 1946. He previously served as an apostolic delegate to Ind ...
(18 January 1926 – 30 March 1931) *
Leo Peter Kierkels Leo Peter Kierkels (1882–1957) was a Catholic archbishop and diplomat of the Holy See. Biography Kierkels was born in Baexem, Netherlands on 12 December 1882. He was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Passion on 22 December 1906. He ...
, CP (23 March 1931 – 12 June 1948) ;Apostolic Internuncios *
Leo Peter Kierkels Leo Peter Kierkels (1882–1957) was a Catholic archbishop and diplomat of the Holy See. Biography Kierkels was born in Baexem, Netherlands on 12 December 1882. He was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Passion on 22 December 1906. He ...
, CP (12 June 1948 – 29 June 1952) *
Martin Lucas Martin Lucas (16 October 1894 – 3 March 1969) was a Catholic archbishop and diplomat of the Holy See. Biography Lucas was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, on 16 October 1894. He was ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word on 26 October ...
, SVD (3 December 1952 – 1 January 1957) * James Robert Knox (14 February 1957 – 13 April 1967) ;Apostolic Pro-Nuncios *
Giuseppe Caprio Giuseppe Caprio (15 November 1914 – 15 October 2005), was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He held the post of President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See before he retired in 1990. Caprio was b ...
(22 August 1967 – 19 April 1969) *
Marie-Joseph Lemieux Marie-Joseph Lemieux (10 May 1902 – 4 March 1994) was a Catholic archbishop and diplomat of the Holy See. Biography Marie-Joseph Lemieux joined the Dominican Order, and professed his vows on 4 August 1924. He studied in Rome, Lille and Oxford ...
, OP (30 May 1969 – 16 February 1971) * John Gordon (11 August 1971 – 11 June 1976) *
Luciano Storero Luciano Storero (26 September 1926 – 1 October 2000) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Luciano Storero was born in Pinasca, Italy, on 26 September 1926. He was ordaine ...
(14 July 1976 – 2 February 1981) *
Agostino Cacciavillan Agostino Cacciavillan (14 August 1926 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, and a cardinal since 2001. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1959 to 1998; he was given the titles of archbishop and nu ...
(9 May 1981 – 13 June 1990) * Giorgio Zur (13 August 1990 – 7 December 1998) ;Apostolic Nuncios * Lorenzo Baldisseri (19 June 1999 – 12 November 2002) *
Pedro López Quintana Pedro López Quintana (born 27 July 1953) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1984. Since becoming an archbishop in 2003, he has been the head of the papal offices in India, N ...
(8 February 2003 – 10 December 2009) *
Salvatore Pennacchio Salvatore Pennacchio (born 7 September 1952 in Marano, Italy) is a Catholic archbishop and diplomat of the Holy See, currently president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Biography He received his priestly ordination on 18 September 19 ...
(8 May 2010 – 6 August 2016) *
Giambattista Diquattro Giambattista Diquattro (born 18 March 1954) is an Italian archbishop and Vatican diplomat. He has been Apostolic Nuncio in Brazil since 2020. He has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1985 and has been a nuncio and archbish ...
(21 January 2017 – 29 August 2020) *
Leopoldo Girelli Leopoldo Girelli (born 13 March 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as the apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal. He was nuncio to Israel and Cyprus as well as apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine from 2017 to 2 ...
(13 March 2021 – present)


See also

*
Holy See–India relations India-Holy See relations are the bilateral relations between the India and Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City. Formal bilateral relations between the two exist since 12 June 1948. An Apostolic Delegation to the East Indies existe ...
*
List of diplomatic missions in India This is a list of diplomatic missions in India. There are 159 embassies/high commissions in New Delhi, and many countries maintain consulates in other Indian cities. Most of these diplomatic missions in Delhi are located in Chanakyapuri diplomatic ...


References


External links

*
catholic-hierarchy.org

gcatholic.org
{{Subject bar , portal1=Catholicism , portal2= India
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
Catholic Church in India
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 ...
Holy See–India relations