Nigerian prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1960)

Fortunatus Nwachukwu (born 10 May 1960) is a Nigerian prelate of the Catholic Church who represents the Holy See at several international organizations in Geneva. He has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1994. He has been an apostolic nuncio with the *le of archbishop since 2012.

Biography

Nwachukwu was born in Ntigha, in present-day Abia State, Nigeria, on 10 May 1960. He studied theology and canon law in the seminary and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Aba on 17 June 1984. He studied diplomacy at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1994. His first *ignments were in Ghana, Paraguay, Algeria, and Geneva. He then worked in Rome in the Second Section of the Secretariat of State. At the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angeli* he completed a doctorate in canon law in 1996 with a dissertation en*led "Canons 364 and 365, the Holy See and the State of Israel: an example of the logic of pontifical diplomacy."

Nwachukwu in his role as Head of Protocol

He was appointed Chief of Protocol of the Secretariat of State on 4 September 2007. He speaks a number of languages including English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, in addition to Arabic.

On 12 November 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him *ular Archbishop of Aquaviva and apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua. Pope Benedict consecrated him a bishop on 6 January 2013.

On 4 November 2017 Pope Francis appointed him apostolic nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana, and Apostolic Delegate to the Antilles. He received additional *ignments: as Apostolic Nuncio to Saint Lucia, Grenada, and the Bahamas on 27 February 2018; as Apostolic Nuncio to Suriname on 9 March 2018; and Apostolic Nuncio to Belize on 8 September 2018.

On 17 December 2021, Pope Francis named him Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva and at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Holy See Representative at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

On 23 December 2021, following his Christmas address to senior members of the Roman Curia, Pope Francis gave each attendee three books he recommended, including Nwachukwu's recent work on gossip, The Abused Word.

References

External links

• Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu

Portals:BiographyCatholicismNigeria