The Apostolic Nunciature to France is an ecclesiastical office of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is a diplomatic post of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, whose representative is called the

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; 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 ...

with the rank of an ambassador.

History of the Nunciature

The early twentieth century was a very difficult time in France-Vatican relations because of tensions over Church-State separation (laïcité) and

anticlericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

, which were condemned by Pius X, and which led to the freezing of relations. However, relations were renewed after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and had very much improved, after the Second World War, under the presidency of Charles de Gaulle. There was controversy over relations under the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

, because the regime rewarded the Church even though some bishops sometimes opposed antisemitism. Relations with the Sarkozy government were relatively good, given the fact that the government has announced an end to the ban on recognition of higher Christian institutions. On 30 September 2019, it was revealed that then nuncio

Luigi Ventura Luigi Ventura (born 9 December 1944) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, ending his career as Apostolic Nunciature to France, Apostolic Nuncio to France from 2009 to 2019. He became ...

, who has been under investigation for sex abuse, was no longer living in France and now resides in Rome, Italy. On 17 December 2019, Pope Francis accepted Ventura's resignation, which he submitted upon turning 75 on 9 December. On 11 January 2020, Pope Francis appointed recent Russian nuncio

Celestino Migliore Celestino Migliore (born 1 July 1952) is an Italian Archbishop of the Catholic Church who serves as the Apostolic Nuncio to France. He previously served as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. He has spent most of his caree ...

nuncio to France.

Apostolic Nuncios to France

References

External links

* * {{coord, 48, 51, 55, N, 2, 17, 57, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title

Catholic Church in France France–Holy See relations

History of the Nunciature

Apostolic Nuncios to France

See also

References

External links