Franco Coppola (born 31 March 1957) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been

Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium The Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium is the holder of a diplomatic position within the Catholic Church, who acts as Ambassador of the Holy See to the Belgium. Diplomatic relations between the Belgian state (1830) and the Holy See began in 1835. Until ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

since 2021. He has served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1993.

Biography

Coppola was born in

Maglie Maglie ( Salentino: ; Griko: , translit. ; la, Mallae) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. History The Maglie area was settled as early as the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age, and befor ...

on 31 March 1957. He was ordained priest on 12 September 1981. He was incardinated in the diocese of

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...

. He attended 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 ...

while at the same time studying for a doctorate in canon law at a pontifical university. He entered 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 Rome ...

on 1 July 1993, he served at the pontifical representations in

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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and at the

Section for Relations with States The Section for Relations with States or Second Section of the Secretariat of State is the body within the Roman Curia charged with dealing with matters that involve relations with civil governments. It has been part of the Vatican Secretariat o ...

of the Secretariat of State. He served with the rank of Counsellor at the Nunciature in

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

. On 16 July 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 sovereign ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to

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 Vinda. He was consecrated by

with Cardinals

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 ...

and

William Levada William Joseph Levada (June 15, 1936September 26, 2019) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. From May 2005 until June 2012, he served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Benedict XVI; he was the h ...

as co-consecrators on 12 September 2009, the twenty-eighth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, along with

Gabriele Giordano Caccia Gabriele Giordano Caccia (born 24 February 1958) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has worked in the offices of the Secretariat of State and served as Apostolic Nuncio in Lebano ...

Giorgio Corbellini Giorgio Corbellini (20 April 1947 – 13 November 2019) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate, who was the president of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 July 2009 until his death. In this po ...

and

Pietro Parolin Pietro Parolin OMRI (, ; born 17 January 1955) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since February 2014, he has served as the Vatican's Secretary of State since October 2013 and a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers sin ...

. On 31 January 2014, Pope Francis named him Apostolic Nuncio to the Central African Republic. On 2 April 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. ...

named Coppola Nuncio to

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. On 9 July 2016, Pope Francis appointed him Nuncio to Mexico. In December 2017, he forcefully reiterated Francis' criticism of the Mexican bishops saying that "The Church here in Mexico has been lagging behind and has continued to give valid answers for the last century, without realizing that time has meanwhile gone on." Speaking in 2021, at the opening of the Mexican bishops' conference biannual meeting, he urged the country's bishops to "look reality in the eye" as the country's non-Catholic population increases and nonreligious numbers rise. He spoke of several worrying trends in the 2020 census which showed the number of people identifying as nonreligious nearly doubling to 8.1% of the population, while another 2.5% of the population considered themselves religious, but without any professed confession. Protestants and evangelicals grew from 7.5% of the population in 2010 to 11.2% of the population in 2020. On 15 November he was named Nuncio to Belgium and on 14 December 2021 he was named Nuncio to Luxembourg.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coppola, Franco 1957 births Living people People from Maglie 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic Nuncios to the Central African Republic Apostolic Nuncios to Mexico Apostolic Nuncios to Burundi Apostolic Nuncios to Chad Apostolic Nuncios to Luxembourg Apostolic Nuncios to Belgium

Biography

See also

References

External links