Patrick Connell is an American diplomat who became '' Chargé d’Affaires ad interim'' under the Biden administration at the

Embassy of the United States to the Holy See The Embassy of the United States of America to the Holy See (or Embassy Vatican for short) is the diplomatic mission of United States of America to the Holy See, a term referring to the central government and universal reach of the Roman Catholic C ...

on January 20, 2021, succeeding former ambassador Callista Gingrich. Connell is currently a career member of the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

and had previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy from July 2020 until his promotion.

Early life

Patrick Connell was born in Westford, Massachusetts. He had received a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and English from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Villanova University School of Law Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova University School of Law) is a law school of the Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1953, the School of Law is approved by the American Bar Associati ...

Awards

Connell is the recipient of several State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor awards and in 2015 had been awarded the Sinclaire Language Award for Greek and Turkish.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Patrick United States Foreign Service personnel Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Westford, Massachusetts Villanova University School of Law alumni Ambassadors of the United States to the Holy See 21st-century American diplomats