The Apostolic Nunciature to South Africa the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to South Africa. It is located Pretoria. The current Apostolic Nuncio is

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Peter Bryan Wells Peter Bryan Wells (born May 12, 1963) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has spent most of his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has worked in Rome in the administration of the Secretariat of State and i ...

, who was named to the position by Pope Francis on 9 February 2016. The Apostolic Nunciature to the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in South Africa, with the rank of an embassy. The

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 or ...

serves both as the ambassador of the Holy See to the

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...

, and as delegate and point-of-contact between the Catholic hierarchy in South Africa and the Pope. The nuncio is currently also accredited to

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

History

It was established on 25 June 1994. Until then the Holy See maintained its representation through a series of delegations with increasingly narrow jurisdiction: the Delegation to Africa, the Delegation to Southern Africa, and the Delegation to South Africa.

List of papal representatives to South Africa

;Apostolic Delegates to Southern Africa *

Bernard Gijlswijk Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

, O.P. (2 December 1922 – 22 December 1944 ) * Martin Lucas, S.V.D. (14 September 1945 – 3 December 1952 ) * Celestine Joseph Damiano (27 November 1952 – 24 January 1960 ) *

Joseph Francis McGeough Joseph Francis McGeough (29 August 1903 – 12 October 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Joseph McGeough was born on 29 August 1903 in New York City. He studied at t ...

(17 September 1960 – 8 July 1967 ) * John Gordon (19 August 1967 – 1971 ) *

Alfredo Poledrini Alfredo Poledrini (30 June 1914 – 23 April 1980) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1965 and served as Apostolic Nuncio to several countries in Africa. B ...

(20 September 1971 – 18 September 1978 ) * Edward Idris Cassidy (25 March 1979 – 6 November 1984 ) * Joseph Mees (19 January 1985 – October 1987 ) * Ambrose Battista De Paoli (6 February 1988 – 24 June 1997 ) ;Apostolic Nuncios to South Africa * Ambrose Battista De Paoli (25 June 1994 – 11 November 1997 ) *

Manuel Monteiro de Castro Manuel Monteiro de Castro (born 29 March 1938) is a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1967 to 2009, with the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985. His assignments a ...

(2 February 1998 – 1 March 2000 ) *

Blasco Francisco Collaço Blasco Francisco Collaço (born 16 May 1931) is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, including 30 years as an apostolic nuncio. Biography Collaço was born in Raia, Goa, Indi ...

(24 May 2000 – August 2006 ) *

James Patrick Green James Patrick Green (born 30 May 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who from 2006 to 2022 served as apostolic nuncio to a variety of countries including to several Scandinavian countries from 2017 to 2022. Early years ...

(17 August 2006 – 15 October 2011) * Mario Roberto Cassari (10 March 2012 – 22 May 2015) *

(9 February 2016 – 8 February 2023)

References

External links

* * {{Diplomatic missions in South Africa, state=collapsed South Africa