Joseph Spiteri (born 20 May 1959) is a Maltese prelate 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 ...

who works in the diplomatic service 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 R ...

. He has been

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 ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

since March 2018.

Biography

Joseph Spiteri was born on 20 May 1959 in

Sliema Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the most densely po ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, though the family lived in Luqa. He was the first child born to Ernest Spiteri and Emmanuela née Cassar. After attending local seminaries he was ordained a priest on 29 June 1984 by Archbishop

Joseph Mercieca Joseph Mercieca ( mt, Ġużeppi Mercieca, 11 November 1928 – 21 March 2016) was a Maltese prelate who served as the second Archbishop of Malta from 1976 to 2006. He is credited with restoring stability in the Maltese church following the dispu ...

in St John's Co-Cathedral in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

. After a brief pastoral assignment, he studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and earned a doctorate in canon law from the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

in 1988. He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 15 July 1988 and fulfilled assignments in Panama, Iraq, Mexico, Portugal, Greece and Venezuela, and then worked in the offices of the Secretariat of State in Rome. On 21 February 2009,

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 soverei ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka and

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 . He was consecrated by Cardinal

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 o ...

, with the Maltese archbishops Paul Cremona and

as co-conservators, in St John's Co-Cathedral. On 1 October 2013,

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. ...

appointed him Nuncio to the Côte d'Ivoire. On 7 March 2018, Pope Francis named him Nuncio to Lebanon. On 7 July 2022, Pope Francis named him Nuncio to Mexico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiteri, Joseph Living people 1959 births 20th-century Maltese Roman Catholic priests Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic Nuncios to Sri Lanka Apostolic Nuncios to Ivory Coast Apostolic Nuncios to Lebanon Apostolic Nuncios to Mexico 21st-century Maltese Roman Catholic priests

Biography

See also

References