Pope Leo XIV appointed Archbishop Gabriele Caccia as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the United States March 7, replacing Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who submitted his resignation after turning 80 in January.
Archbishop Caccia, 68, previously served as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, a post he held since 2019. Vatican News reported that the archbishop said he is “honored and deeply humbled” to serve as nuncio “to the Country and Church” that is Pope Leo’s home.
He said he receives “this mission with both joy and a sense of trepidation” and highlighted that his mission is “at the service of communion and peace.” His time at the UN in New York, he added, has already allowed him to experience “the warmth and openness” of the local Church and Americans, which he said encourages him as he begins his new mission.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said in a statement that he welcomes Pope Leo’s decision “with joy.”
“On behalf of my brother bishops, I wish to extend our warmest welcome and our prayerful support to him as he carries out his responsibilities across the United States, and we look forward to working with him,” Archbishop Coakley said.
According to Vatican News, Archbishop Caccia was born in Milan in 1958 and was ordained in 1983. He served at a parish in Milan until 1986, when he was sent to Rome’s Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where he earned a doctorate in theology and a licentiate in canon law.
He joined the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See in 1991 and represented the Pope in Tanzania. He later held several roles in the Secretariat of State, including assessor for general affairs, from 1993 to 2009. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon and titular archbishop of Sepino. Pope Francis later appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines in 2017 before assigning him to the United Nations in 2019.