Apostolic Nunciature

Updated on Oct 08, 2024

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An Apostolic Nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See, equivalent to an embassy, however, it does not issue visas nor does it have consulates.

The head of the Apostolic Nunciature is called a nuncio, an ecclesiastical diplomatic title. 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 to one of two international intergovernmental organizations, the European Union or ASEAN, having the rank of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, and the ecclesiastical rank of titular archbishop. Papal representatives to other intergovernmental organizations are known as "permanent observers" or "delegates".

In several countries that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, the Apostolic Nuncio is ipso facto the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. The nuncio is first in the order of precedence among all the diplomats accredited to the country, and he speaks for the diplomatic corps in matters of diplomatic privilege and protocol. Most countries that concede priority to the nuncio are officially Catholic, but some are not.

In addition, the nuncio serves as the liaison between the Holy See and the Church in that particular nation, supervising the diocesan episcopate (usually a national conference of bishops which has its own elected President, often the highest-ranking (arch)bishop, especially if his seat carries the title of primate or he has individually been created a cardinal). The nuncio has an important role in the selection of bishops.

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 January 2010):

Africa

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Botswana, Cameroun, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Botswana, 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, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sénégal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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

Asia

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China (Taiwan), East Timor, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam (Non-Resident), Yemen.

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, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine

Oceania

Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu

Special cases

United Nations: the Holy See is represented by the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations at the UN headquarters in New York and by the Permanent Observer at the UN's European office in Geneva, both of whom are titular archbishops.

Of the entities having established diplomatic relations with, there is no representative only to the Order of Malta (which is headquartered in Rome too).

There are sixteen countries with whom the Holy See does not have relations.

Nine of these are Muslim: Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Comoros, the Maldives, Mauritania, Oman, and Somalia.

Another four have communist governments. These are the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, People's Republic of China, and Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The remaining four are Bhutan, Burma, South Sudan, and Tuvalu.

Delegations

Note: For nations with which 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 are titular archbishops but have no formal diplomatic status, though in some countries they have some diplomatic privileges.

Africa:

Comoros; Mauritania; Somalia

Asia:

Jerusalem and Palestine; the Arabian Peninsula; Brunei; Laos; Myanmar/Burma; Viêt Nam

the Americas:

the Antilles (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, French Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Saint Vincent and Grenadines)

the Pacific Ocean

References

Apostolic Nunciature Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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