The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic churches for the sake of assisting their development and protecting their rights. It also maintains whole and entire in the one Catholic Church the heritage and canon law of the various Eastern Catholic traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, southern Albania and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan and Turkey, and also oversees jurisdictions based in Romania, Southern Italy, Hungary, India and Ukraine.
Leonardo Sandri is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since November 2007 and vice dean of the College of Cardinals since January 2020. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches from 2007 to 2022. He served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1974 to 1991 in several overseas assignments, including as permanent observer of the Holy See before the Organization of American States from 1989 to 1991, and in Rome as Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State from 1999 to 2007.
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.
Giuseppe Bertello is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012, who was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from October 2011 to October 2021. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1971 to 2011; became an archbishop in 1987; held appointments as Nuncio to several countries, including Rwanda, Mexico, and Italy; and was the Holy See's representative to a number of international organizations.
Adolfo Tito Camacho Yllana is a Philippine prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has been an archbishop and apostolic nuncio since 2001, the Apostolic Nuncio to Israel as well as Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine since June 2021.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Ukraine the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Ukraine. It is located in Kyiv. The current Apostolic Nuncio is Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, who was named to the position by Pope Francis on 15 June 2021.
Leo Boccardi is a prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1987 until he retired in 2021, with the rank of archbishop and the title of apostolic nuncio since 2007.
Joseph Salvador Marino is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who worked in the Vatican diplomatic service from 1988 to 2019 and then served as president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy until 2023. He became an archbishop in 2008 and represented the Holy See in Malaysia, East Timor, and Brunei for six years.
Mario Zenari is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since 2016. He has served his entire ecclesiastical career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, holding senior positions beginning in 1999. He has been Apostolic Nuncio to Syria since 30 December 2008. He was nuncio to Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2008.
Giuseppe Pinto is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He served as an Apostolic Nuncio from 2001 until his retirement in 2020. He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1984.
Antonio Arcari is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and retired in 2023. He has been an archbishop and has held the rank of Apostolic Nuncio since 2003.
Emil Paul Tscherrig is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who has spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1996 and has since held assignments as Apostolic Nuncio to several countries. He was most recently nuncio to Italy and San Marino when he retired in 2024.
Santo Rocco Gangemi is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.
Nicolas Henry Marie Denis Thevenin is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has been Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt since 2019.
Marek Solczyński is a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church who joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1993 and served as an Apostolic Nuncio since 2011. He has been Nuncio to Turkey and Azerbaijan since February 2022.
Francisco Montecillo Padilla is a Philippine prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1985. He represented the Holy See, either as Apostolic Nuncio or Apostolic Delegate, to the several countries on the Arabian Peninsula. On 17 April 2020, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala.
Paolo Rocco Gualtieri is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Armenia is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Armenia. It is a diplomatic mission of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. The title Apostolic Nuncio to Armenia is held by the prelate appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia; he resides in Georgia.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Georgia is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Georgia. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. The Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia is usually also the Apostolic Nuncio to Armenia upon his appointment to said nation.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Azerbaijan is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan. It is headed by the Apostolic Nuncio, a member of the diplomatic service of the Holy See, who represents the interests of the Holy See to Church officials, the government, and civil society in Azerbaijan. It is a diplomatic post with the rank of ambassador.
