The Apostolic Nunciature to the Solomon Islands 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 ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. 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 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 org ...

with the rank of an ambassador. The nuncio resides in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The United Kingdom took control of the Solomon Islands from Germany at the end of the 19th century and ruled the region under the

British Solomon Islands Protectorate The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first declared over the southern Solomons in 1893, when Captain Gibson, R.N., of , declared the southern islands a British protectorate. Other islands were subsequently declared to form part ...

until the Solomon Islands became an independent nation in 1975. The Holy See was long represented in the region by representatives with regional responsibility. It established its Delegation to Australia on 15 April 1914, which was succeeded by the Delegation to Australia, New Zealand and Oceania in 1947 and the Delegation to Australia and Papua New Guinea in 1968. All those officials were responsibility for the Solomons as well.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named

Gino Paro Gino Paro (17 June 1910 – 21 September 1988) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He became a bishop and head of the Vatican's training program for diplomats in 1962. Raised to the rank of archbishop, he served as an apostolic nuncio fr ...

Delegate to Australia and Papua New Guinea–a single title–on 5 May 1969. The separate Nunciature to Australia was created 5 March 1973 and when Paro was named Nuncio to Australia on 4 July 1973 he remained Delegate to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The creation of the Nunciature to Papua New Guinea on 7 March 1977 left the Delegation with the Solomon Islands as its sole responsibility. The Holy See established the Apostolic Nunciature to the Solomon Islands on 27 July 1985.

List of papal representatives to the Solomon Islands

;Apostolic Delegates *

(5 May 1969 – 5 April 1977) **Originally named Apostolic Delegate to Australia and Papua New Guinea **The Nunciature to Australia was created on 5 March 1973. **The Nunciature to Papua New Guinea was created on 7 March 1977. *

Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (27 August 1925 – 19 November 2017) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1977 until he retired in 2001. As Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint ...

(5 April 1977 – 25 October 1980) *

Francesco De Nittis Francisco De Nittis (3 July 1933 – 10 March 2014) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, an archbishop and a diplomat. Born in Vieste, Italy, De Nittis was ordained a priest on 15 July 1956. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered ...

(7 March 1981 – 24 January 1985) ;Apostolic Pro-Nuncios *

Antonio Maria Vegliò Antonio Maria Vegliò (born 3 February 1938) is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who has served as Vatican diplomat and in the Roman Curia. He was President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itin ...

(27 July 1985 – 21 October 1989) *

Giovanni Ceirano Giovanni Ceirano ( Cuneo, 1865 - Turin, March 30, 1948) was an Italian industrialist and automotive pioneer. He cofounded 'Junior Fabbrica Automobili Torinese' in 1905, 'Società Ceirano Automobili Torino' in 1906, 'Fabbrica Automobili Ceirano' in ...

(15 January 1990 – 20 August 1992) ;Apostolic Nuncio *

Ramiro Moliner Inglés Ramiro Moliner Inglés (born 13 March 1941) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career working in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Ramiro Moliner Inglés was born on 13 March 1941 in Castelserás, Provin ...

(2 January 1993 – 10 May 1997) *

Hans Schwemmer Hans Schwemmer (11 September 1945 – 1 October 2001) was a German prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Hans Schwemmer was born in Riggau, a district in Pressath, Germany, on 11 September 19 ...

(9 July 1997 – 1 October 2001) *

Adolfo Tito Yllana Adolfo Tito Camacho Yllana (born 6 February 1948) is a Philippine prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has been an archbishop and apostolic nuncio since 2001, the Apostolic Nuncio to Israel as ...

(5 February 2002 – 31 March 2006) *

Francisco Montecillo Padilla Francisco Montecillo Padilla (born 17 September 1953) is a Philippine prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1985. He represented the Holy See, either as Apostolic Nuncio or Apostolic Delega ...

(1 April 2006 – 10 November 2011) *

Santo Rocco Gangemi Santo Rocco Gangemi (born 16 August 1961) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Gangemi was born in Messina on 15 August 1961. He was ordained a priest on ...

(27 January 2012 – 16 April 2013) *

Michael Banach Michael Wallace Banach (born November 19, 1962) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1994. He has been apostolic nuncio to Apostolic Nunciature to Hun ...

(18 May 2013 – 19 March 2016) *

Kurian Mathew Vayalunkal Kurian Mathew Vayalunkal (born 4 August 1966) is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as Apostolic Nuncio to Algeria. He was the Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Isla ...

(21 September 2016 – 1 January 2021) *

Fermín Emilio Sosa Rodríguez Fermín Emilio Sosa Rodríguez (born 12 April 1968) is a Mexican archbishop of the Catholic Church who was appointed apostolic nuncio to Papua New Guinea and named an archbishop in March 2021. Biography Fermín Emilio Sosa Rodríguez was born ...

(16 December 2021 – present)

References

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