Pier Luigi Celata (born 23 January 1937) is an Italian 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 from July 2012 to December 2014 was Vice Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. He spent much of his career 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 ...

. He became an archbishop in 1986 and from 1986 to 2002 was Apostolic Nuncio to several countries.

Biography

He was born in

Pitigliano Pitigliano is a town in the province of Grosseto, located about south-east of the city of Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). The town is known as ''the little Jerusale ...

, in

province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Grosseto completely ...

, on 23 January 1937. On 8 October 1961 he was ordained a priest for Diocese of Pitigliano. On 12 December 1985

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

Titular Archbishop of Doclea Doclea or Dioclea, also known as Diokleia or Diocleia (; ), was an ancient Illyrian, Roman and Byzantine city, in the region of the Docleatae tribe (Roman province of Dalmatia, later Praevalitana), now an archeological site near Podgorica in mode ...

and

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 ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1986 from

. On 7 May 1988 he was also named Nuncio to the

Republic of San Marino A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...

, and on 26 June 1992 also Nuncio to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. On 6 February 1995 he was transferred to the Apostolic Nunciature to Turkey, and on 3 April 1997 he was also appointed Nuncio to

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. On 3 March 1999 he became Nuncio to Belgium and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. On 14 November 2002 he was appointed secretary of the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by ...

, a post he held until he was replaced on 30 June 2012 by Miguel Ayuso Guixot. On 21 December 2002,

made him a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants. On 5 March 2012,

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 ...

made him a member of the

Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization (Latin: ''Pontificium Consilium de Nova Evangelizatione''), also translated as Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia whose crea ...

. On 23 July 2012,

appointed him Vice Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and on 28 July he was named a member of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

. On 20 December 2014, he was replaced as Vice Camerlengo by Archbishop Giampiero Gloder and retired a month before his 78th birthday.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celata, Pier Luigi 1937 births Living people Apostolic nuncios to Malta Apostolic nuncios to San Marino Apostolic nuncios to Slovenia Apostolic nuncios to Turkey Apostolic nuncios to Turkmenistan Apostolic nuncios to Belgium Apostolic nuncios to Luxembourg People from Pitigliano