Embassy of the United States to the Holy See | |
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Location | Via Sallustiana, 49 Rome, Italy |
Coordinates | 41°54′24″N12°29′31″E / 41.9066051°N 12.4918327°E |
Opened | 1994 |
Ambassador | Joe Donnelly (since 2022) |
The Embassy of the United States of America to the Holy See (Latin : Legatio ad Sanctam Sedem Civitatum Foederatarum Americae or Embassy Vatican for short) is the diplomatic mission of United States of America to the Holy See, a term referring to the central government and universal reach of the Roman Catholic Church.
The current embassy moved to new headquarters in September 2015 in a separate building on the same compound as the United States Embassy Rome. [1] The embassy was previously located on Aventine Hill in the Villa Domiziana in Rome, Italy, which was built as a private residence in 1953. In 1994, the U.S. government acquired the property as the new chancery for embassy. [2] On October 16, 2017, Callista L. Gingrich was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next Ambassador to the Holy See. [3] On October 8, 2021, President Biden nominated former U.S. senator Joe Donnelly to be ambassador to the Holy See, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination on January 20, 2022. [4] Donnelly presented his credentials to Pope Francis on April 11, 2022. [5]
The embassy is a part of the "Tri-Mission Community" in Rome, the other two being the Embassy of the United States, Rome and the United States Mission to the U.N. Agencies in Rome.
Formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See were established in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. The mission works in partnership with the Holy See on global issues including: democracy, peace, and security; trafficking in persons; interreligious dialogue; development and foreign aid; and human rights. [6]
This facility became the focus of an unexpected controversy when it was falsely reported on November 27, 2013, that the Embassy would be closed. [7] The embassy was set to be transferred in January 2015 to a larger building adjacent to the U.S. Embassy to Italy for reasons of cost, security, and proximity to the Vatican itself. [8] However, as part of a broader push to cut security for U.S. embassies, Congress blocked the move in 2014. [9] The Embassy of the United States to the Holy See, previously located on Aventine Hill, moved to new headquarters in September 2015 in a separate building on the same compound as the United States Embassy Rome. [10]
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes an embassy or high commission, which is the main office of a country's diplomatic representatives to another country; it is usually, but not necessarily, based in the receiving state's capital city. Consulates, on the other hand, are smaller diplomatic missions that are normally located in major cities of the receiving state. As well as being a diplomatic mission to the country in which it is situated, an embassy may also be a nonresident permanent mission to one or more other countries.
The Holy See, also called the See of Rome, Petrine See, Apostolic See, and Government of Vatican City, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome and sovereign of Vatican City. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome, which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Catholic Church, and sovereignty and governance over the city-state known as Vatican City.
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their appointment must be confirmed by the United States Senate; while an ambassador may be appointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed.
The Apostolic Nunciature to the United States, sometimes referred to as the Vatican Embassy, is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to the United States. It is located at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Embassy Row neighborhood. Since 2016, the papal nuncio has been Archbishop Christophe Pierre.
The Embassy of the United States of America in Rome is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America to the Italian Republic. The embassy's chancery is situated in the Palazzo Margherita, Via Vittorio Veneto, Rome. The United States also maintains consulates general in Milan, Florence and Naples, and consular agencies in Genoa, Palermo, and Venice. The diplomatic mission comprises several sections and offices, such as the public affairs section and its cultural office. President Biden has yet to choose a new ambassador, so the U.S. is currently represented by Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Shawn P. Crowley.
The current United States Ambassador to the Holy See is Joe Donnelly, who replaced the ad interim Chargé d'Affaires, Patrick Connell, on April 11, 2021. The Holy See is represented by its apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, who assumed office on April 12, 2016. The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is located in Rome, in the Villa Domiziana. The Nunciature to the United States is located in Washington, D.C., at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
The Holy See has long been recognised as a subject of international law and as an active participant in international relations. One observer has stated that its interaction with the world has, in the period since World War II, been at its highest level ever. It is distinct from the city-state of the Vatican City, over which the Holy See has "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction".
Holy See–Ireland relations are foreign relations between the Holy See and Ireland. The majority of Irish people identify as Roman Catholic, according to census data. However, views on actual church dogma both on social and spiritual matters varies significantly, and weekly mass attendance is below 40%. The Holy See has an Apostolic Nunciature in Dublin.
Callista Louise Gingrich is an American businesswoman, author, documentary film producer and former diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 2017 to 2021. She is married to former House Speaker and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.
A chancery is the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy. This often includes the associated building and the site. The building can house one or several different nations' missions. The term derives from chancery or chancellery, the office of a chancellor. Some nations title the head of foreign affairs a chancellor, and 'chancery' eventually became a common referent to the main building of an embassy.
The Embassy of the United States in Islamabad is the diplomatic mission of the United States in Pakistan. The embassy in Islamabad is one of the largest U.S. embassies in the world, in terms of personnel, and houses a chancery and complex of office buildings. The embassy complex also houses a contingent of military officials and intelligence personnel in addition to diplomatic and non-diplomatic staff. U.S. Department of State also maintains Consulates in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
Holy See–Philippines relations refers to the relations between the Holy See and the Philippines. As one of two Catholic-majority countries in Asia, the Philippines enjoys significant relations with the Holy See. The Holy See has a nunciature in Manila, and the Philippines has an embassy to the Holy See based in Rome.
The Embassy of the Philippines in Rome is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the Italian Republic. First opened in 1947, it is currently located along the Via Aurelia in the quarter (quartiere) of Aurelio, part of Municipio XIII in western Rome, just west of Vatican City.
The Embassy of the Philippines to the Holy See is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the Holy See, the central government of the Roman Catholic Church. Opened in 1957, it is located along Via Paolo VI in the rione of Borgo, part of Municipio I in central Rome along the border between Italy and Vatican City, and across from St. Peter's Square.