Pedro López Quintana (born 27 July 1953) is a Spanish 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 has worked 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 ...

since 1984. Since becoming an archbishop in 2003, he has been the head of the papal offices in India, Nepal, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. He has been Apostolic Nuncio to Austria since March 2019.

Biography

Pedro López Quintana was born on 27 July 1953 in

Barbastro Barbastro (Latin: ''Barbastrum'' or ''Civitas Barbastrensis'', Aragonese: ''Balbastro'') is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain. The city (also known originally as Barbastra or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers Cin ...

, Spain. His parents were from Galicia. He entered the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in Compostela where he did his ecclesiastical studies and graduated in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was ordained a priest on 15 June 1980 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1980 He earned a licentiate in

Dogmatic Theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...

from 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 ...

and a doctorate 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 ...

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 ...

(the ''Angelicum''). He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 10 February 1984 and his early assignments included stints in Madagascar, the Philippines, and India. On 7 February 1998, he took up the post of Assessor for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State in Rome. On 27 August 1986 Pope John Paul II appointed him a

chaplain of His Holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

. On 12 December 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular archbishop of Acropolis. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 2003 from Pope John Paul. On 8 February of that year, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to India and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. On 10 December 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 nuncio to Canada, a post he resigned on 28 September 2013. On 8 March 2014,

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 apostolic nuncio to Lithuania. On 22 March 2014, Pope Francis also appointed him Nuncio to Estonia and to Latvia. This continues the recent practice of having a single apostolic nuncio representing the

in the Baltic states but residing at the nunciature in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

. On 4 March 2019 Francis named him

Apostolic Nuncio to Austria The Apostolic Nuncio to Austria is an ecclesiastical office of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. It originated as t ...

References

External links

catholic-hierarchy.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Quintana, Pedro Spanish Roman Catholic titular archbishops Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic Nuncios to Canada Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Apostolic Nuncios to India Apostolic Nuncios to Nepal Apostolic Nuncios to Estonia Apostolic Nuncios to Latvia Apostolic Nuncios to Lithuania Apostolic Nuncios to Austria 1953 births Living people People from Barbastro

Biography

See also

References

External links