Edgar Robinson Peña Parra (born 6 March 1960) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

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 ...

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 ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named him Substitute for the Secretariat of State on 15 August 2018, effective 15 October, making him the highest ranking Venezuelan in the Roman Curia. He joined the diplomatic corps 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 ...

in 1993, serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan from 2011 to 2015 and to

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

from 2015 to 2018. He is the first Venezuelan to serve as an Apostolic Nuncio. He is fluent in Spanish, Italian, English, French, Portuguese and Serbo-Croatian.

Early years

Edgar Peña Parra was born in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

, Venezuela, on 6 March 1960 and raised in the El Saladillo neighborhood. He earned a degree in philosophy in 1981 at the seminary of the Diocese of San Cristóbal and then a bachelor's degree in theology at the seminary in Caracas. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Maracaibo on 23 August 1985 by Archbishop . In Rome beginning in 1986, he studied diplomacy at 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 ...

and in 1993 he earned a degree in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

with the thesis: "Los Derechos Humanos en el Sistema Interamericano a la luz del Magisterio Pontifical", which, ''Crux'' reports, "has become a reference point for the study of human rights".

Diplomat

Peña Parra joined the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

of the

on 1 April 1993. He fulfilled assignments in Kenya, Yugoslavia (1997–99), South Africa, Honduras (2002–05), and Mexico (2006–11), with a brief stint in the office of the Holy See's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. In Kenya, he represented the Holy See on housing and environmental issues with agencies of the United Nations. In his last assignment before being promoted to nuncio, Parra worked in the

Apostolic Nunciature to Mexico The Apostolic Nunciature to Mexico the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Mexico. It is located in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City. The current Apostolic Nuncio is Bishop Joseph Spiteri, who was named to the position by Pope Francis on 7 July ...

first under

Giuseppe Bertello Giuseppe Bertello (born 1 October 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012, who was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from Octo ...

and then

Christophe Pierre Christophe Louis Yves Georges Pierre (born 30 January 1946) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church. He is an archbishop who has been serving as the apostolic nuncio (ambassador) to the United States since 2016. Pierre previously served as ...

. On 8 January 2011,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

appointed Parra

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Thélepte and gave him the title "Apostolic Nuncio". On 2 February 2011 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him

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 ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on 5 February 2011 from

, with Cardinals

Angelo Sodano Angelo Raffaele Sodano, GCC (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and from 1991 on a cardinal. He was the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 ...

and

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...

as co-consecrators. On 21 February 2015, Pope Francis appointed Peña Parra Apostolic Nuncio to Mozambique. In 2016 he joined the group of mediators trying to restore peace between the government of Mozambique and the opposition political party

Renamo RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppose ...

Substitute for General Affairs

Peña Parra was appointed Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State on 15 August 2018, effective 15 October. He is the second Latin American to hold that position, following the Argentine

Leonardo Sandri Leonardo Sandri (born 18 November 1943) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since November 2007 and vice dean of the College of Cardinals since January 2020. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Chu ...

, who was substitute from 2000 to 2007.

Writings

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peña Parra, Edgar 1960 births Living people Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Roman Catholic titular archbishops Venezuelan Roman Catholic archbishops Venezuelan Roman Catholic priests Apostolic Nuncios to Mozambique Catholic Church in Pakistan Apostolic Nuncios to Pakistan Venezuelan expatriates in Pakistan Diplomats of the Holy See