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 Church.
The current embassy moved to new headquarters in September 2015 in a separate building on the same compound as the United States Embassy Rome. The embassy was previously located on
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome.
Location and boundaries
The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
in the Villa Domiziana in
Rome,
Italy, which was built as a private residence in 1953. In 1994, the U.S. government acquired the property as the new
chancery
Chancery may refer to:
Offices and administration
* Chancery (diplomacy), the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy
* Chancery (medieval office), responsible for the production of official documents
* Chancery (Scotlan ...
for embassy. On October 16, 2017,
Callista L. Gingrich was confirmed by the
U.S. Senate as the next Ambassador to the Holy See. On October 8, 2021, President Biden nominated former U.S. senator
Joe Donnelly to be ambassador to the Holy See, and the
U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination on January 20, 2022. Donnelly presented his credentials to
Pope Francis on April 11, 2022.
The embassy is a part of the "Tri-Mission Community" in Rome, the other two being the
Embassy of the United States, Rome and the
United States Mission to the U.N. Agencies in Rome.
History
Formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See were established in 1984 by
President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
and
Pope John Paul II. The mission works in partnership with the Holy See on global issues including:
democracy,
peace, and
security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
;
trafficking in persons;
interreligious dialogue; development and foreign aid; and
human rights.
This facility became the focus of an unexpected controversy when it was falsely reported on November 27, 2013, that the Embassy would be closed. The embassy was set to be transferred in January 2015 to a larger building adjacent to the
U.S. Embassy to Italy for reasons of cost, security, and proximity to the Vatican itself. However, as part of a broader push to cut security for U.S. embassies, Congress blocked the move in 2014. The Embassy of the United States to the Holy See, previously located on
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome.
Location and boundaries
The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
, moved to new headquarters in September 2015 in a separate building on the same compound as the United States Embassy Rome.
References
External links
*
Holy See
United States
Holy See–United States relations
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