Michael August Blume (born May 30, 1946) is an American 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

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

from 1995 to 2005 and then in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as an Apostolic Nuncio until retiring at the end of 2021.

Biography

Michael August Blume was born on August 30, 1946, in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. A member of the

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word (), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, i ...

, he was ordained a priest on December 23, 1972, by Auxiliary Bishop

Joseph Crowley Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American former politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in ...

in the

Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, Indiana. Blume earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a theology degree at 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 ...

. From 1975 to 1983 he taught theology at the regional seminary in

Cape Coast, Ghana Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

. From 1983 to 1990 he was provincial of the Society of the Divine Word in Ghana,

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

, and Togo, and secretary general of the Society from 1990 to 1994. On April 8, 2000, Blume was named under secretary of the

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People () was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia. The council, established by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988, was dedicated to the spiritual welfare of migrant and it ...

, having founded its press service in April 1995.

Diplomatic career

On August 24, 2005,

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 ...

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 Alexanum and apostolic nuncio to both

and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. He was consecrated a bishop on September 30, 2005, 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 ...

, Vatican secretary of state. Pope Benedict appointed him apostolic nuncio to

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

on February 2, 2013.

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 him apostolic nuncio to Hungary on July 4, 2018, and accepted his resignation on 31 December 2021.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Michael August Blume, S.V.D.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blume, Michael August 1946 births Living people Apostolic nuncios to Uganda Apostolic nuncios to Hungary Apostolic nuncios to Benin Apostolic nuncios to Togo Divine Word Missionaries Order People from South Bend, Indiana Officials of the Roman Curia Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular archbishops

Biography

Diplomatic career

See also

References

External links