Archbishop Paul Gallagher named nuncio to Australia
(Vatican Radio) English Archbishop Paul Gallagher, currently the Holy See’s representative
to Guatemala, was appointed last week as the new apostolic nuncio to Australia. The
Liverpool-born Gallagher, who was educated by the Jesuits and studied at the Venerable
English College here in Rome, went on to become the first English born nuncio to train
at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy for Vatican diplomats. He worked in Tanzania,
Uruguay, the Philippines and at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, before being
sent as nuncio to Burundi in 2004 following the assassination of the former papal
representative there. Archbishop Gallagher narrowly escaped death himself when the
nunciature was badly damaged by rebels aiming shells at the presidential palace.
Since
2009, he has served as nuncio in Guatemala but in January he is expected to take up
his new post as the first non-Italian representative of the Holy See in Australia.
Archbishop Gallagher spoke to Vatican Radio’s Philippa Hitchen about his reaction
to this new appointment….