Michael Wallace Banach (born November 19, 1962) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who has worked in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

since 1994. He has been

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; 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 org ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

since May 2022. He has served as an observer at a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

agency and as apostolic nuncio to several nations in Asia and Africa.

Biography

Michael Wallace Banach was born on November 19, 1962, in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

. He was ordained on July 2, 1988, by Bishop

Timothy Harrington Timothy Charles Harrington (1851 – 12 March 1910), born in Castletownbere, County Cork, was an Irish journalist, barrister, nationalist politician and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...

as a priest for the Diocese of Worcester. In 1992, Banach completed his preparation for a diplomatic career for the Holy See at the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

in Rome. He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See on July 1, 1994, and fulfilled assignments in the nunciatures in Bolivia and Nigeria as well as in Rome in the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State. On January 22, 2007 Banach was appointed as permanent observer of the Holy See at the United Nations Office at Vienna and

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

and as permanent representative to the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1 ...

and the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

in Vienna. On February 22, 2013,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

named Banach titular archbishop of Memphis and gave him the title

. On April 16, 2013,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed him as apostolic nuncio to

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. Banach received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Secretary of State

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine o ...

on April 27, 2013, in Rome. His co-consecrators were Cardinals

Marc Ouellet Marc Armand Ouellet (born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI ...

and

Fernando Filoni Fernando Filoni (born 15 April 1946) is a cardinal prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who serves as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2011 to 2 ...

. He was given additional titles over the next few years: on May 18, 2013, apostolic nuncio to the Solomon Islands; on March 19, 2016, apostolic nuncio to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

and apostolic delegate to Mauritania; on July 9, 2016, apostolic nuncio to

Cabo Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

; on August 22, 2016, apostolic nuncio to

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...

. On May 13, 2017, his title in Mauritania changed from apostolic delegate to apostolic nuncio. On May 3, 2022, he was appointed apostolic nuncio to Hungary.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banach, Michael 1962 births Living people 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to Papua New Guinea Apostolic Nuncios to Senegal Apostolic Nuncios to Mauritania Apostolic Nuncios to Cape Verde Apostolic Nuncios to Guinea-Bissau Apostolic Nuncios to the Solomon Islands Apostolic Nuncios to Hungary

Biography

See also

References

External links