Nuncio - who is this? The word is foreign and is used mainly in the field of diplomacy. Therefore, few people know its meaning. Most often, when pronouncing it, there is an association with the word "papal". Details about who this nuncio will be described in the article.
Dictionary interpretation
The word being studied is marked "diplomatic". It denotes a person who is the representative of the Pope in countries with which the Vatican maintains diplomatic relations, and acting on a permanent basis. This position corresponds to the rank of an ambassador - extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
In addition, in civil law, the concept of "nuncio" is deciphered as a person who transmits only someone else's will. It is opposed to a representative who, on behalf of the represented, makes his own will.
The term "nuncio" comes from the Latin noun nuntius. The latter means "messenger", "messenger", "sent".
Apostolicnuncio
This is the official name of the agent representing the Vatican and the pope as its head in other subjects of international law. As mentioned above, his status is equated to the status of an ambassador - a first-class diplomatic representative. For the first time, this was noted by the Vienna Protocol of 1815. It was signed by the participants in the peace treaty of Paris. The protocol says that ambassadors, papal legates (authorized popes) or nuncios are considered as representatives of their sovereigns.
This provision was adopted by the 1961 Vienna Convention. Then it was determined that nuncios are accredited on a par with ambassadors to heads of state. Initially, the Vatican sent them only to those states where the Catholic religion was regarded as dominant. These countries have a tradition of giving special respect to such a position. In particular, this is expressed in the fact that the person holding it is given the post of doyen - the head of the corps of diplomats.
Along with the Vienna Convention, the activities of nuncios are governed by canons 362-367 of the Code of Canon Law. As a rule, they are in the rank of archbishop and are en titled to worship in any of the Catholic churches located on the territory of the diplomatic mission. An example is the Catholic Cathedral on Malaya Gruzinskaya in Moscow.
Papal ambassadors are not members of the local conference of Catholic bishops, but they are required to maintain close contact with it, providing all possible assistance.
Rights and obligations
Considering the question of who this nuncio is, it should be said about the scope of his duties, which include the following functions:
- Maintaining the relations existing between the Holy See and the authorities of the host State.
- Discussion of the situation of the Catholic Church in the host country, support of the bishopric in the local Church.
- Promotion of mutual understanding, peaceful coexistence of peoples.
- Building friendships not only with non-Catholic Christians but also with non-Christians.
It is a right to offer the Vatican candidates for vacant episcopal sees, doing so after negotiations with local hierarchs.
The Pope's representatives may also be present in those countries with which he does not have full-fledged diplomatic relations. They are called apostolic delegates. The latter are also representatives of the papal throne, but they are not endowed with embassy diplomatic status. Previously, there were positions such as internuncio and pronuncio. They were agents of the second rank, today there are no such statuses in diplomatic practice.
Nunciature
Derived from the word "nuncio". This is the papal embassy in some country. It represents the diplomatic mission of the Vatican, headed by a nuncio, which has the highest level and is equivalent to an embassy. She is the link between the Catholic Church in a particular country and the Holy See.
Our country alsomaintains relations with the Vatican through the Apostolic Nunciature in Moscow. It was established in 1990. Then the Holy See and the USSR, after a long break, established official relations.
A bit of history
When the Soviet Union collapsed, on September 5, 1991, the Holy See recognized the sovereignty and independence of Russia. On December 20, 1991, BN Yeltsin, being the President of the Russian Federation, paid an official visit to the Pope. Pope John Paul II received Yeltsin for the second time in 1998
22.11.2009 Dmitry Medvedev, while in office of the President of the Russian Federation, signed a decree establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican. It ordered the Russian Foreign Ministry to negotiate with the Vatican in order to establish relations at the level of the Apostolic Nunciature in the Russian Federation and the Russian Embassy in the Vatican. They also spoke about the need to transform the Russian representation in the Vatican into an embassy. On December 9, 2009, the Vatican and Russia exchanged notes providing for the establishment of relations at the embassy level.
Since that time, there have been six nuncios in Russia. We are talking about archbishops:
- Francesco Colasuonno (1990-1994);
- Jone Bukowski (1994-2000);
- George Zure (2000-2002);
- Antonio Mennini (2002-2010);
- Ivane Yurkovic (2011-2016);
- Celestino Migliore (2016-present).
In conclusion, we will talk about the current representative of the Vatican in Russia.
Papal Nuncio Biography Facts
Celestino Migliore was born in 1952. He is an Italian prelate and Vatican diplomat. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1977 and holds a Master of Theology degree and a Doctor of Canon Law. From 1980 to 1984 he served as attaché and second secretary of the Apostolic Delegation to Angola.
In 1984 he was appointed to the Apostolic Nunciature in the USA, in 1988 - to the Nunciature in Egypt, in 1989 - in Poland, in Warsaw. Since 1992, he has been a special envoy to France, in Strasbourg, at the Council of Europe. From 1995 - Deputy Secretary of the Section dealing with relations with a number of states.
At the same time, Migliore was also responsible for establishing diplomatic relations with those states that at that time did not have formal relations with the Vatican. In this status, he negotiated with representatives of such countries as China, Vietnam, North Korea. He also took part in UN conferences. Celestino Migliore was also a teacher of ecclesiastical diplomacy as a visiting professor at the Pontifical Lateran University.
2002 to present
In October 2002, Migliore was appointed by John Paul II to the UN as a permanent observer. This position is equivalent to that of an ambassador. The archbishop was the fourth person to serve in this role. Then he became the Archbishop of Canosa.
One of the main events during Migliore's tenure as an observer at the UN was Pope Benedict XVI's visit to her headquarters in April 2008. Then the pope had a meeting with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and delivered an address toGeneral Assembly.
In 2010, the Archbishop was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Poland. And in May 2016, he was relieved of this post. The reason for this is the transfer of the nuncio to Russia. Since January 2017, he has been such in Uzbekistan in combination.
