Joseph Salvador Marino (born January 23, 1953) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who worked in the Vatican diplomatic service from 1988 to 2019 and then served as president of the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (, ) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Despite its name, the P ...

until 2023. He became an archbishop in 2008 and represented the Holy See in

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 ...

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, and

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

for six years.

Biography

Early years

Joseph Marino was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, on January 23, 1953, one of three sons of Salvador Marino, an electrical engineer, and Josephine Marino. He grew up in the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham and graduated from John Carroll High School in Birmingham in 1971. Marino earned degrees in philosophy and psychology from the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Priesthood

Marino was ordained a priest by Bishop William Houck on August 25, 1979, for the Diocese of Birmingham. Marino received degrees in theology and

biblical theology Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. The academic field of biblical theology is sub-divided into Old Testament theology and New Testament theology. Academic ...

from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

while living at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

from 1975 to 1980. Marino returned to Birmingham for four years of pastoral work as associate pastor at St. Paul's Cathedral Parish. In 1984 he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy to prepare for a career in the diplomatic service while obtaining a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law (, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD or dr.iur.can. (''Iuris Can ...

degree from the Gregorian.

Diplomatic career

Marino joined the diplomatic service on July 15, 1988. His early assignments included stints in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from 1988 to 1991,

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

from 1991 to 1994, and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

from 1994 to 1997. From 1997 to 2004, Marino worked at the Secretariat of State in Rome, where he had responsibility for the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

countries. He participated as senior staff-member in two diplomatic missions: Cardinal

Jean-Louis Tauran Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran (; 5 April 1943 – 5 July 2018) was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he died, he had been the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since 2007 and Camerlengo of the Holy Ro ...

's visit to

Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, on April 1, 1999, that sought a resolution to the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

; and the meeting between U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and Cardinal

Pio Laghi Pio Laghi (21 May 1922 – 10 January 2009) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the ...

in which Laghi unsuccessfully tried to dissuade Bush from invading Iraq in 2003. Marino was working in the apostolic nunciature to the United Kingdom when, on January 12, 2008,

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 his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named him a titular archbishop and apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh. He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Tauran on March 29, 2008, at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham. On January 16, 2013, Pope Benedict appointed Marino as

apostolic nuncio to Malaysia The Apostolic Nunciature to Malaysia is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Malaysia, equivalent to an embassy. It is located at 17 Jalan Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur. The Delegation to Malaysia was raised to the rank of Nunciature to Malaysi ...

, apostolic nuncio to

, and apostolic delegate to

. He negotiated the 2015 accord between the Holy See and East Timor.

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 ...

named Marino president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy on October 11, 2019. He is the second American to lead the school. Pope Francis appointed Marino a member of the

Dicastery for Evangelization The Dicastery for Evangelization is a department (dicastery) of the Roman Curia. It was created on 5 June 2022 through the merger of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peop ...

on November 17, 2020. On January 23, 2023, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

Notes

References

External links

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Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Joseph Marino
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marino, Joseph Salvador 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular archbishops 1953 births Living people Apostolic nuncios to Bangladesh Apostolic nuncios to Timor-Leste Apostolic nuncios to Malaysia University of Scranton alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Presidents of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy