Eugene Martin Nugent (born 21 October 1958) is an Irish

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who has served as Apostolic Nuncio to Bahrain,

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

and

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

since January 2021.

Early life and education

Nugent was born in Gurtaderra, Scariff, County Clare on 21 October 1958. He attended primary school at Clonusker National School and secondary school at Scariff Community College. Nugent studied for the priesthood at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Celtic studies from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

, and the

Pontifical Irish College The Pontifical Irish College is a Roman Catholic seminary for the training and education of priests, in Rome. The College is located at #1, Via dei Santi Quattro, and serves as a residence for clerical students from all over the world. Designated ...

, Rome, where he was awarded a baccalaureate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Nugent was ordained a priest for the

Diocese of Killaloe The Diocese of Killaloe ( ) may refer either to a Roman Catholic or a Church of Ireland (Anglican) diocese, in Ireland. Roman Catholic diocese The Diocese of Killaloe is the second largest Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland. It comprises the ...

on 9 July 1983.

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Nugent completed a

licentiate in canon law Licentiate may refer to: *Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. Religion *Licentiate of Canon Law, Roman Catholic Church * L ...

at the Pontifical Gregorian University, before returning to the

in 1984, where he received his first pastoral assignment as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

in the

cathedral parish A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

until 1987. Nugent returned to Rome in 1988, where he worked in the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, before entering the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

in 1991, in preparation for a diplomatic career for the Holy See. He was awarded a

doctorate in canon law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1992. Upon completion of studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Nugent entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1992, with his first diplomatic appointment as secretary to the

Apostolic Nunciature to Turkey The Apostolic Nunciature to Turkey is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Turkey. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. Papal representation in ...

, Israel and Palestine. He was subsequently appointed to the Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines in 2000, but while he was officially assigned to the apostolic nunciature in Manila, he resided in Hong Kong, from where he led the Holy See Study Mission. During his mission, Nugent handled relations between Catholic communities in China and the Holy See, however his effectiveness in doing so was compromised by the refusal of the Beijing government to allow him to travel regularly to mainland China, resulting in relations often being maintained in secret.

Episcopal ministry

Apostolic Nuncio to Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles

Nugent was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Madagascar, Apostolic Delegate to Comoros and Réunion and titular archbishop of Domnach Sechnaill by Pope Benedict XVI on 13 February 2010. He was also appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Mauritius and Seychelles on 13 March. Nugent was consecrated by the

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

, Tarcisio Bertone, on 18 March in St Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti

Nugent was appointed

Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti The Apostolic Nunciature to Haiti the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Haiti. It is located in Port-au-Prince. The current Apostolic Nuncio is Archbishop Francisco Escalante Molina, who was named to the position by Pope Francis on 4 June 202 ...

by Pope Francis on 10 January 2015. He championed many causes during his mission, including the reconstruction of churches following the

2010 earthquake Earthquakes in 2010 resulted in nearly 165,000 fatalities. Most of these were due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused an estimated 160,000 deaths, making it the 11th deadliest earthquake in recorded history. Other deadly quakes occurred i ...

to facilitating political dialogue in order to end the

political crisis Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

in the country.

Apostolic Nuncio to Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar

Nugent was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait and

by Pope Francis on 7 January 2021. He was also appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Bahrain on 11 February.

Notes

References

External links

Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent
on Catholic-Hierarchy.org
Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent
on GCatholic {{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Eugene Living people 1958 births Irish Roman Catholic titular bishops Apostolic Nuncios to Madagascar 21st-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni 20th-century Roman Catholics Pontifical Irish College alumni Diplomats of the Holy See 21st-century Roman Catholics Christian clergy from County Clare Apostolic Nuncios to Haiti Apostolic Nuncios to Seychelles Apostolic Nuncios to Kuwait Apostolic Nuncios to Qatar Apostolic Nuncios to Bahrain Irish Roman Catholic archbishops People from Scariff