Karl-Josef Rauber; Nuncio for Belgium

Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin Nuntius, meaning any envoy. This article treats that title as well as derived similar titles, all in the Roman Catholic Church. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 343 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (444 × 775 pixel, file size: 60 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 343 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (444 × 775 pixel, file size: 60 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The system of diplomatic rank has over time been formalised on an international basis. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic...

Terminology and history

A Papal Nuncio (officially known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of diplomatic mission) of the Holy See to a state or international organization (e.g., the Arab League), having the rank of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, usually with the ecclesiastical rank of titular archbishop. Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a papal nuncio is an ambassador like those from any other country. However in some Catholic countries, a papal nuncio is accorded seniority over others of ambassadorial rank accredited to the same country, and holds the deanship of that country's diplomatic corps regardless of seniority. - Seal on the building of German Embassies. ... For other uses, see State (disambiguation). ... Headquarters Cairo, Egypt1 Official languages Arabic Membership 22 Arab states 2 observer states Leaders  -  Secretary General Amr Moussa (since 2001)  -  Council of the Arab League Sudan  -  Speaker of the Arab Parliament Nabih Berri Establishment  -  Alexandria Protocol March 22, 1945  Area  -  Total 13,953,041 (Western Sahara Included) = 13,687,041... An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is an international treaty on diplomatic intercourse and the privileges and immunities of a diplomatic mission. ...

In addition, the Nuncio serves as the liaison between the Holy See and the Roman Catholic diocesan episcopate in the nation or region to which he is assigned. The national or regional episcopate is usually supervised by a national conference of bishops, whose presiding officer is often the highest ranking bishop or archbishop of that nation, or is elected from the diocesean ordinaries of the nation or region. In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is a conference consisting of all the bishops within a given territory. ... Pope Pius XI, depicted in this window at Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, Honolulu, was ordinary of the universal Roman Catholic Church and local ordinary of Rome. ...

Formerly, the title Internuncio denoted a papal diplomatic representative of the second class, corresponding to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary as a title for diplomatic representatives of states (cf. Article 14, par. 2 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations). Before 1829, internuncio was the title applied instead to the interim head of a mission when one Nuncio had left office and his replacement had not yet assumed it. The system of diplomatic rank has over time been formalised on an international basis. ... The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is an international treaty on diplomatic intercourse and the privileges and immunities of a diplomatic mission. ...

A legate a latere is a temporary papal representative or a representative for a special purpose. ...

Historically, the most important type of apocrisiary (a title also applying to representatives exchanged by a high prelate with a Patriarch) was the equivalent of a nuncio, sent by the Pope to the Byzantine Empire; during the fifth and sixth centuries, when much of Italy remained under Byzantine control, several Popes were former apocrisiaries. APOCRISIARIUS, a Latinized title (originally equivalent to Agens in rebus ?) from the Greek (meaning he who answers, i. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... The 6th century is the period from 501 - 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... This is a list of Popes of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Pro-Nuncio was a term used from 1965 to 1991 for a papal diplomatic representative of full ambassadorial rank accredited to a country that did not accord him precedence over other ambassadors and de jure deanship of the Diplomatic Corps in accordance with the Viennna Convention. In those countries, the papal representative's precedence within the corps is exactly on a par with that of the other members of ambassadorial rank, so that he becomes dean only on becoming the senior member of the corps.

For nations with whom the Holy See has no diplomatic ties, an Apostolic Delegate is sent to serve as a liaison with the Roman Catholic Church in that nation, though not accredited to the government of the state. Apostolic delegates have the same ecclesiastical rank as nuncios, but have no formal diplomatic status, though in some countries they have some diplomatic privileges. An apostolic delegate served as the papal representative to the United States and the United Kingdom until both major Anglo-Saxon states with a predominantly Protestant tradition established formal relations with the Holy See in the late twentieth century, allowing for the appointment of a Papal Nuncio (see the list of British Ambassadors to the Holy See); Cardinal Pio Laghi, for example, was first apostolic delegate, then pro-nuncio, to the United States during the Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush presidencies. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic... From 1982 diplomatic representation between the United Kingdom and the Holy See has been at ambassadorial level. ... Pio Laghi (born Castiglione di Forlì, May 21, 1922) is a Roman Catholic Cardinal who has served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. ... For other persons named Jimmy Carter, see Jimmy Carter (disambiguation). ... “Reagan” redirects here. ... George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993. ...

Apostolic delegates are also sent to episcopal conferences that include more than one nation, such as the Antilles Episcopal Conference and the Scandinavian Bishops Conference. These delegates are most likely appointed nuncio to all or many of the nations covered by their delegation. In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is a conference consisting of all the bishops within a given territory. ... The Antilles Episcopal Conference is a Roman Catholic episcopal conference. ... The Scandinavian Bishops Conference is a conference of Roman Catholic bishops covering the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. ...

Article 16 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations provides: The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is an international treaty on diplomatic intercourse and the privileges and immunities of a diplomatic mission. ...

1) Heads of mission shall take precedence in their respective classes in the order of the date and time of taking up their functions in accordance with Article 13.

2) Alterations in the credentials of a head of mission not involving any change of class shall not affect his precedence.

3) This article is without prejudice to any practice accepted by the receiving State regarding the precedence of the representative of the Holy See.

In accordance with this article, many states (even not predominantly Catholic ones such as Germany and Switzerland and including the great majority in central and western Europe and in the Americas) give precedence to the Nuncio over other diplomatic representatives, according him the position of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps reserved in other countries for the longest-serving resident ambassador. The diplomatic corps is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country. ...

List of diplomatic posts of the Holy See

The Pope accredits diplomats with the following states and other subjects of international law (list as per Spring 2006):

Nunciatures

• In Europe: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine,
• In Africa: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Congo (Republic of), Congo (Democratic Republic of), Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho , Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sénégal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
• In the Americas: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, México, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela
• In Asia: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China (Taiwan), India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen
• In Oceania: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, East Timor, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu
• United Nations

Delegations

• in Africa: Comoros, Mauritania and Libya
• in Asia: Jerusalem and Palestine, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar/Burma and Viêt Nam

See also

• Foreign relations of the Holy See
• Apostolic diplomatic missions

While the Apostolic See of Rome can be referred to as the Holy See of Rome or the Holy See of St. ... Apostolic Nuncio in Canberra Apostolic Nuncio in Ottawa Apostolic Nunciature in Warsaw Since the fifth century, well before the founding of the Vatican City in 1929 Papal envoys (known as nuncios) have been representing the Holy See to foreign potentates. ...

Sources and external links

• List of all Apostolic Nunciatures and Apostolic Delegations by Giga-Catholic Information
• Nuncio from the Catholic Encyclopedia and elsewhere
• CatholicHierarchy