Peter Stephan Zurbriggen (27 August 1943 – 28 August 2022) was a Swiss
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
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 diplomatic service 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 ...
from 1993 until his retirement in 2018. He was
Apostolic Nuncio to Austria
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
from 2009 to 2018.
Biography
He was born and died in
Brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
, Switzerland. He was ordained a priest on 10 October 1969, entering 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 ...
in 1970.
On 13 November 1993, he was named Apostolic Delegate to Mozambique, advancing to the post of Apostolic Nuncio in that country on 22 February 1996.
He was elevated to the episcopacy on 6 January 1994, becoming titular archbishop of
Glastonbury
Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
.
On 13 June 1998,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
appointed him Apostolic Nunzio to Georgia,
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
and Azerbaijan. From 25 October 2001 he was Apostolic Nuncio to
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, Latvia and
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
named him Apostolic Administrator of Estonia on 15 November 2001.
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 Apostolic Nuncio to Austria on 14 January 2009.
See also
*
List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See
The following is a sortable list of the heads of the diplomatic mission of the Holy See. 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 repres ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurbriggen, Peter Stephan
1943 births
2022 deaths
Roman Catholic archbishops in Austria
Apostolic nuncios to Mozambique
Apostolic nuncios to Georgia (country)
Apostolic nuncios to Azerbaijan
Apostolic nuncios to Armenia
Apostolic nuncios to Estonia
Apostolic nuncios to Latvia
Apostolic nuncios to Lithuania
Apostolic nuncios to Austria
People from Brig-Glis
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni
Roman Catholic titular archbishops
Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II