The Apostolic Nunciature to the Republic of Portugal 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 ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. 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 Rome ...

, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. For much of the nineteenth and twentieth Centuries the holders of the office have gone on to hold positions in the Roman Curia that customarily been held by cardinals. This custom has now ceased, though is still in use in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Apostolic nuncios to Portugal

* Antonio Pucci (1513 - 1515) *Manuel de Noronha (1518) *Martinho de Portugal (1527 - 1529) *Marco Quinto Vigerio della Rovere (1532 - 1536) * Girolamo Capodiferro (1536 - 1539) *Ferdinando Vasconcellos de Menezes (20 December 1538 - 1542 ?) *

Luigi Lippomano Luigi Lippomano (also Alvise, or Aloisio, in Latin Aloisius Lipomanus) (1496, Venice – 15 August 1559, Rome) was an Italian bishop and hagiographer. Life Luigi Lippomano was the illegitimate son of Venetian patrician Bartolo Lippomano, who det ...

(21 May 1542 - 27 June 1544) * Giovanni Ricci di Montepulciano (27 June 1544 - 4 March 1550) * Pompeo Zambeccari (4 March 1550 - 22 November 1553) * Cardinal Henry of Portugal (Nov 1553 - 1560) (with the title of ''Legate'') * Prospero Santacroce (6 July 1560 - 10 May 1561) *Giovanni Campeggi (10 May 1561 - 17 September 1563) *Flaminio Donato di Aspra (1563 - 1574) (with the title of ''collector'') *Giovanni Andrea Caligari (16 October 1574 - 10 July 1577) (with the title of ''collector'') *Roberto Fontana (10 July 1577 - Nov 1578) (with the title of ''collector'') *Alessandro Frumento (12 November 1578 - 15 April 1580) *Cardinal

Alessandro Riario Alessandro Riario (1543–1585) was an Italians, Italian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal. Biography Alessandro Riario was born in Bologna on 3 December 1543, the son of Patricia ...

(15 April 1580 - 9 February 1583) (with the title of ''Legate'') *Roberto Fontana (9 February 1583 - 1584) (with the title of ''collector'') * Alfonso Visconti (14 May 1584 - 1586) (with the title of ''collector'') *Muzio Bongiovanni (22 February 1586 - 1588) (with the title of ''collector'') *Giovanni Battista Biglia (25 August 1588 - 1592) (with the title of ''collector'') *

Fabio Biondi Fabio Biondi (born 15 March 1961) is an Italian violinist and conductor. He is a specialist in Baroque and early music. Biography Born in Palermo, Sicily, Biondi had a late start, having never even held a violin till age 11, but by the follo ...

(1º Oct 1592 - 15 October 1596) (with the title of ''collector'') * Ferdinando Taverna (15 October 1596 - 17 March 1598) (with the title of ''collector'') *

Decio Carafa Decio Carafa (1556–1626) was an Archbishop of Naples who had previously served as papal nuncio to the Spanish Netherlands (1606–1607) and to Habsburg Spain (1607–1611). Life Carafa was born in Naples in 1556, the son of Ottaviano Carafa, l ...

(17 March 1598 - 1604) (with the title of ''collector'') * Fabrizio Caracciolo Piscizi (22 December 1604 - 31 January 1609) (with the title of ''collector'') *Gasparo Albertoni (31 January 1609 - 1614) (with the title of ''collector'') *

Ottavio Accoramboni Ottavio Accoramboni (1549 – 23 May 1625) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Urbino (1621–1623), Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal (1614–1620), and Bishop of Fossombrone (1579–1610). Biography Ottavio Accoramboni was born ...

(4 June 1614 - 4 June 1620) (with the title of ''collector'') *

Vincenzo Landinelli Vincenzo Landinelli (died 1627) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Albenga (1616–1624) and Apostolic Collector to Portugal (1620–1621). ''(in Latin)'' Biography Vincenzo Landinelli was born in Sarzana, Italy. On 3 Augus ...

(4 June 1620 - 15 September 1621) (with the title of ''collector'') * Antonio Albergati (15 September 1621 - 27 February 1624) (with the title of ''collector'') *

Giovanni Battista Maria Pallotta Giovanni Battista Maria Pallotta (also Palotta or Palotto) (23 January, 1594 – 22 January, 1668) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. Early life Pallotta was born in 1594 in Caldarola to a well respected family. He was the nephew of Cardinal Gio ...

(8 June 1624 - 6 June 1626) (with the title of ''collector'') *Lorenzo Tramallo (12 April 1627 - 1634) (with the title of ''collector'') *

Alessandro Castracani Alessandro Castracani or Alessandro Castracane (1580 – 22 July 1649) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Fano (1643–1649), Apostolic Collector to Portugal (1634–1640), Apostolic Nuncio to Savoy (1629–1634), and Bish ...

(30 September 1634 - 1640) (with the title of ''collector'') *Girolamo Battaglia (15 November 1640 - 30 September 1646) (with the title of ''collector'') *Vincenzo Nobili (18 February 1647 - after 1650) (with the title of ''collector'') * Francesco Ravizza (12 August 1670 - 12 April 1673) *Marcello Durazzo (12 April 1673 - 5 May 1685) *

Francesco Niccolini Francesco Niccolini (also ''Nicolini'', 1639 – 1692) was an Italian archbishop and diplomat, Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal from 1685 to 1690 and to France from 1690 to 1692. Life Born in Florence in 1639, he was nephew of the archbishop of the ...

(10 October 1685 - 24 January 1690) *

Sebastiano Antonio Tanara Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (10 April 1650 – 5 May 1724) was an Italian cardinal. He studied law at the university of Bologna. He was internuncio in Flanders (1675-1687) and as, such, he was sent with secret mission to king James II of England, wh ...

(26 May 1690 - 15 March 1692) * Giorgio Cornaro (12 May 1692 - 22 July 1697) * Michelangelo dei Conti (24 March 1698 - 7 June 1706) *Vincenzo Bichi (14 September 1709 - 1720) * Giuseppe Firrao (seniore) (28 September 1720 - 11 December 1730) *Gaetano de Cavalieri (27 March 1732 - before 6 November 1738) * Giacomo Oddi (25 February 1739 - 9 September 1743) *Luca Melchiore Tempi (22 January 1744 - 26 November 1753) *Filippo Acciaiuoli (28 January 1754 - 23 February 1761 expelled from Portugal) *Vincenzo Ranuzzi (26 February 1782 - 14 February 1785) * Carlo Bellisomi (7 May 1785 - 21 February 1794) *

Bartolomeo Pacca Bartolomeo Pacca (27 December 1756, Benevento – 19 April 1844) was an Italian cardinal, scholar, and statesman as Cardinal Secretary of State. Pacca served as apostolic nuncio to Cologne, and later to Lisbon. Biography Bartolomeo Pacca was ...

(21 March 1794 - 23 February 1801) * Lorenzo Caleppi (23 December 1801 - 8 March 1816) *Giovan Francesco Compagnoni Marefoschi (20 December 1816 - 17 September 1820) *

Giacomo Filippo Fransoni Giacomo Filippo Fransoni (10 December 1775 – 20 April 1856) was an Italian prelate and cardinal who served from 1834 to 1856 as prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. He was the cardinal priest of the Church of Sa ...

(21 January 1823 - 2 October 1826) *Alessandro Giustiniani (24 April 1827 - 2 July 1832) * Filippo de Angelis (13 November 1832 - 15 February 1838) * Camillo Di Pietro (7 February 1844 - 16 June 1856) *

Innocenzo Ferrieri Innocenzo Ferrieri (1810–1887) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Ferrieri was appointed Titular Archbishop of Side on 4 October 1847. He was elevated to Cardinal on 13 March 1868 by Pope Pius IX and appointed Cardinal-Pries ...

(16 June 1856 - 13 March 1868) *

Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano (9 July 1828, Bene Vagienna, Italy – 7 December 1913, Rome, Italy) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church in the late nineteenth century. He was Bishop of Ostia e Velletri and Dean of the Sacred College of Cardi ...

(29 May 1868 - 22 December 1873) * Domenico Sanguigni (25 August 1874 - 19 September 1879) *

Gaetano Aloisi Masella Gaetano Aloisi Masella (30 September 1826 – 22 November 1902) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1887 and served as Prefect of the Congregation of Rites from 1899 until his death. Bi ...

(30 September 1879 - 25 June 1883) *

Vincenzo Vannutelli Vincenzo Vannutelli (5 December 1836 – 9 July 1930) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He spent his career in the foreign service of the Holy See and was made a cardinal in 1890. At his death he was the oldest member o ...

(3 October 1883 - 23 June 1890) * Domenico Maria Jacobini (16 June 1891 - 22 June 1896) *

Andrea Aiuti Andrea Aiuti (17 June 1849 – 28 April 1905) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. He was made a cardinal in 1903. Biography Andrea Aiuti was born in Rome on ...

(26 September 1896 - 12 November 1903) * José Macchi (Jan 1904 - 7 June 1906) * Giulio Tonti (4 October 1906 - 25 October 1910 ) *

Achille Locatelli Achille Locatelli (15 March 1856 in Seregno, Milan, Italy – 5 April 1935 in Rome) was a Roman Catholic cardinal. He worked in papal diplomacy, and among other positions, he was nuntius in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. He was named Apostol ...

(13 July 1918 - May 1923 ) *

Sebastiano Nicotra Sebastiano Nicotra (31 August 1855 – 21 May 1929) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. From 1916 to 1929 he was an apostolic nuncio with the rank of archbishop. Biography Sebastiano N ...

(30 May 1923 - 1928 ) *

Beda Giovanni Cardinale Beda Giovanni Cardinale (30 July 1869 – 1 December 1933), also Giovanni Beda Cardinale, was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who headed dioceses in Italy from 1907 to 1922 and then served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See in Latin ...

, O.S.B. (21 June 1928 - 1 December 1933 ) *

Pietro Ciriaci Pietro Ciriaci (2 December 1885 – 30 December 1966) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Council in the Roman Curia from 1954 until his death, and was elevated to the card ...

(9 January 1934 - 12 January 1953) *

Fernando Cento Fernando Cento (10 August 1883 – 13 January 1973) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Major Penitentiary of Apostolic Penitentiary. Early life Fernando Cento was born in Pollenza, Italy. His parents were Evaristo Cento and ...

(26 October 1953 - 1958) *

Giovanni Panico Giovanni Panico (12 April 1895 – 7 July 1962) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as nuncio to several countries during his career, and was created a cardinal in 1962. Life Early life Panico was born in Tricase, in t ...

(25 January 1959 - 1962) * Maximilien de Fürstenberg (28 April 1962 - 26 June 1967) *

Giuseppe Sensi Giuseppe Maria Sensi (27 May 1907 – 26 July 2001) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as a longtime Vatican diplomat. Biography Sensi was born in Cosenza, Italy, on 27 May 1907, the sixth of ten children of a ...

(8 July 1967 - 1976) * Angelo Felici (13 May 1976 - 27 August 1979) * Sante Portalupi (15 December 1979 - 31 March 1984) * Salvatore Asta (21 July 1984 - 1989) *

Luciano Angeloni Luciano Angeloni (2 December 1917 – 9 May 1996) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Luciano Angeloni was born in Imperia, Italy, on 2 December 1917. He was ordain ...

(31 July 1989 - 15 March 1993) *

Edoardo Rovida Edoardo Rovida (born 26 August 1927) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1953 to 2002. Biography Edoardo Rovida was born on 26 August 1927 in Alessandria, Italy, and was ordai ...

(15 March 1993 - 12 October 2002) *

Alfio Rapisarda Alfio Rapisarda (born 3 September 1933) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1962 to 2008, with the title of apostolic nuncio from 1979. Biography Alfio Rapisarda was born on 3 ...

(12 October 2002 - 8 November 2008) *

Rino Passigato Rino Passigato, GCC, GCSE (born 29 March 1944) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was the Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal from 2008 to 2019 and is the current Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus to Portugal. Biography Passigato was born o ...

(8 November 2008 - 4 July 2019) *

Ivo Scapolo Ivo Scapolo (born 24 July 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1984, and has served as nuncio in Bolivia, Rwanda, Chile and Portugal. He has been an archbishop since 20 ...

(29 August 2019 – present)

References

{{Diplomatic missions in Portugal