Thomas A. White (12 August 1931 – 7 May 2017) was an archbishop 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 served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. Consecrated bishop in Rome 30th July 1978, he once described his career as "gypsy for the sake of the Kingdom".

Biography

Thomas Anthony White was born in

Durrow, County Laois Durrow (, formerly ''Darmhagh Ua nDuach'') is a village located in south-east County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Bypassed by the M8 motorway (Ireland), M8 motorway on 28 May 2010, the village is located on the R639 road at its junction ...

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, on 12 August 1931, one of five children. He attended Cullohill National School and then

St Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the passing of the Cath ...

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

, where he excelled in academics and

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

. White was ordained to the priesthood on 25 February 1956 and briefly taught canon law at St. Kieran's. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered 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 1958. His first assignment took him to Nairobi, where the Apostolic Delegation to Eastern Africa was preparing for developing diplomatic relations with the countries of the region as they achieved their independence. He later worked in Latin America and Switzerland. His last staff assignment was in China, first on the mainland and then in the nunciature's new location in Taiwan. Headstone_Archbishop_Thomas_A_White

On 27 May 1978,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

appointed him titular archbishop of Sabiona and served

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 ...

to Rwanda. He received his episcopal consecration on 30 July 1978 from Cardinal

Agnelo Rossi Agnelo Rossi (born Aniello Rossi; 4 May 1913 – 21 May 1995) was a Brazilian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Biography Aniello (later changed to "Agnelo") Rossi was born on 4 May 1913 in Joa ...

On 1 March 1983,

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 Pro-Nuncio to Ethiopia. Famine relief was the central occupation of his time there. He suffered a heart attack in 1988. On 14 October 1989, he was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to New Zealand and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

as well as Apostolic Delegate to Oceania. On 1 December 1992, he received the additional title of Apostolic Nuncio to Nauru. On 31 July 1995 he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Kiribati as well. He left the diplomatic service upon his replacement in several of his posts by

Patrick Coveney Patrick Coveney (29 July 1934 – 22 October 2022) was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1966 to 2009. He became an archbishop in 1985 and fulfilled several assignments as Aposto ...

on 27 April 1996. thumb In retirement he lived in

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, a Dublin suburb, and continued to fill special assignments for the Vatican Secretariat of State. He settled finally at a nursing home in Kilkenny where he died on 7 May 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Thomas A. 1931 births 2017 deaths Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic nuncios to Rwanda Apostolic nuncios to New Zealand Apostolic nuncios to Fiji Apostolic nuncios to Nauru Apostolic nuncios to Samoa Apostolic nuncios to the Pacific Ocean Apostolic nuncios to Ethiopia People from Durrow, County Laois Christian clergy from County Laois Irish Roman Catholic titular archbishops People educated at St Kieran's College, Kilkenny Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II