Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain

The Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain is a diplomatic office of the Holy See in Great Britain. It is headed by the Apostolic Nuncio who has the rank of an ambassador. The parties agreed to exchange representatives at the ambassadorial level[1] and Pope Paul VI erected the Nunciature to Great Britain on 17 January 1982.[2] Before then, the interests of the Holy See in Great Britain had been represented by an Apostolic Delegate since 1938, though not granted diplomatic status until 1979.[3] The decision to designate the nuncio to Great Britain rather than the United Kingdom reflected the complex and frequently antagonistic relationship between the Holy See and the British crown since they severed ties in the sixteenth century. British government sources said it had been agreed that the nuncio in London would concern himself with matters in England, Scotland and Wales, while the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, based in Dublin, would have within his purview the entire island of Ireland.[1]

Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to Great Britain
Location	Wimbledon, London
Address	54 Parkside, London, SW19 5NE
Coordinates	51.4361°N 0.2239°W / 51.4361; -0.2239
Apostolic Nuncio	Claudio Gugerotti

The office of the nunciature is in London, located in Wimbledon, at 54 Parkside, lying within the Archdiocese of Southwark and overlooking Wimbledon Common. It was the only diplomatic mission in London located south of the river Thames until the United States Embassy opened its new premises in Vauxhall in 2018. The Nuncio to Great Britain is also the papal representative to Gibraltar.[4]

The current nuncio is an archbishop Claudio Gugerotti since 4 July 2020.

History

Further information: Holy See–United Kingdom relations

Formal diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See resumed in 1914 and an Apostolic Delegation to Great Britain was established on 21 November 1938.[5] The Apostolic Delegation to Great Britain was promoted to the rank of an Apostolic Nunciature by Pope John Paul II in 1982.[6]

List of office holders

Office	From	Until	Post Holder	Notes
Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain	21 November 1938	10 November 1953	William Godfrey	Previously, a priest in Liverpool. Left after being appointed Archbishop of Liverpool
	8 June 1954	16 July 1963	Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara	Previously, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland. Died in office
	4 October 1963	19 April 1969	Igino Eugenio Cardinale	Previously a priest. Left after being appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium
	26 April 1969	16 July 1973	Domenico Enrici	Previously, Apostolic Delegate to Australia. Left after being appointed an official of the Secretariat of State
	16 July 1973	22 February 1982	Bruno Bernard Heim	Previously Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the Arab Republic of Egypt. Retired
Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Great Britain	22 February 1982	July 1985
	21 January 1986	13 April 1993	Luigi Barbarito	Previously, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Australia. Retired
Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain	13 April 1993	31 July 1997
	31 July 1997[7]	23 October 2004	Pablo Puente Buces	Previously, Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait. Retired.
	11 December 2004	5 December 2010	Faustino Sainz Muñoz	Previously, Apostolic Nuncio to European Community. Retired.
	18 December 2010	1 March 2017	Antonio Mennini	Previously, Apostolic Nuncio to Uzbekistan. Subsequently appointed an official of the Secretariat of State
	8 April 2017	31 January 2020[8]	Edward Joseph Adams	Previously, Apostolic Nuncio to Greece. Retired.
	4 July 2020[9]	Incumbent	Claudio Gugerotti	Previously, Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine.

See also

• List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See
• List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to the Holy See
• Holy See–United Kingdom relations

References

1. Apple, R.W. (7 February 1982). "Pope Sees Hope of Unity in Renewed Ties to Britain". New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2018. Northern Ireland also caused some soul-searching, Government sources said. In the end it was decided that the Vatican would in future deal with Northern Ireland through the nuncio in Dublin and with England, Scotland and Wales through the pro-nuncio in London.
2. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXIV. 1982. pp. 379–80. In Magna Britannia Apostolica Nuntiatura constituitur.
3. "Papal Envoy in Britain Is Received by Queen". New York Times. Associated Press. 19 March 1982. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
4. Matthew Bunson (2008). Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Almanac 2009. Our Sunday Visitor Publishing. pp. 256. ISBN 978-1-59276-441-9.
5. "Nunciature to Great Britain". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
6. Nunciature to Great Britain at GCatholic.org. Retrieved on 11 June 2013.
7. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXXXIX. 1997. p. 671. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
8. "Resignations and Appointments, 31.01.2020" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
9. "Rinunce e nomine, 04.07.2020" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.

External links

• "Nunciature to Great Britain". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. ^{[self-published]}