Rino Passigato

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Rino Passigato

GCC GCSE
Apostolic Nuncio [1]
Appointed8 November 2008 (Nuncio to Portugal)
Retired4 July 2019
Predecessor Alfio Rapisarda
Successor Ivo Scapolo
Other post(s) Titular Archbishop of Nova Caesaris
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination29 June 1968
Consecration6 January 1992
by  Pope John Paul II, Giovanni Battista Re, and Josip Uhac
Personal details
Born (1944-03-29) March 29, 1944 (age 81)
Bovolone, Italy
Styles of
Rino Passigato
Mitre plain 2.png
Reference style
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Archbishop

Rino Passigato (born 29 March 1944) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was the Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal from 2008 to 2019. He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1973. He has been an archbishop since 1992 and served as an apostolic nuncio in Burundi, Bolivia, and Peru.

Contents

Biography

Rino Passigato was born in Bovolone, Italy, on 29 March 1944. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Verona on 29 June 1968. [2] He entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the Vatican school for diplomats, in 1969. [3]

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1973. His early assignments included postings in Cameroon, Australia, Egypt, Great Britain, [a] and the United States. [5] In 1982 he earned a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University with a dissertation titled "The regime of religious freedom and the relations between the political community and the Catholic Church in Vatican II". [5] [6]

On 16 December 1991, Pope John Paul II appointed titular archbishop of Nova Caesaris and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Burundi. [7] He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1992 from Pope John Paul. [8] In Burundi he witnessed the beginnings of genocidal violence between Hutus and Tutsis, and sheltered hundreds of refugees in the garden of the nunciature in Bujumbura. [9]

On 18 March 1996, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia. [10]

On 17 July 1999, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Peru. [11]

On 8 November 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal. [12] He presented his credentials to Aníbal Cavaco Silva, President of Portugal]], on 11 November. [13]

In October 2017, the weekly newspaper Expresso published a lengthy attack on Passigato citing mostly anonymous priests and bishops accusing him of incompetence and lack of consideration for personal circumstances in episcopal appointments. He declined to comment. [14]

Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his priestly ordination in July 2018, the Salesians of Portugal praised his: [13]

...enlightened vision of the world and the intricate problems that power generates and confronts... wisdom more biblical and prophetic than diplomatic and worldly, that makes him a master of the spirit capable of traversing the opacity and contradictions of each moment with ... lucidity and humility.

Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 4 July 2019, a few months after he turned 75. [5] [15]

Honours

Notes

  1. ↑ While based in London, Passigato provided the Congregation for Bishops with information that discredited a critic of Opus Dei. [4]

References

  1. ↑ "Audiences, 10.06.2025" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  2. ↑ "Papa Francisco aceita renúncia do Núncio Apostólico em Portugal" (in Portuguese). ACI Digital. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  3. ↑ "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, Ex-alunni 1950 – 1999" (in Italian). Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  4. ↑ Hutchison, Robert (2014). Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei. St. Martin's Publishing. Retrieved 10 June 2025.[ page needed ]
  5. 1 2 3 López, Larissa I. (4 July 2019). "Portugal: El Papa Francisco acepta la renuncia de Mons. Rino Passigato". Zenit (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  6. ↑ Passigato, Rino. "Regime di libertà religiosa e le relazioni tra la comunità politica e la Chiesa cattolica nel Vaticano II". Pontifical Gregorian University. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  7. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXIV. 1992. p. 94. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "ORDINAZIONE DI 11 NUOVI VESCOVI NELLA SOLENNITÀ DELL'EPIFANIA" (in Italian). Holy See. 6 January 1982. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  9. ↑ "Le radici del conflitto etnico in Burundi e Ruanda. Mons. Passigato: "diedi asilo a 721 profughi nel giardino della nunziatura di Bujumbura"". Faro di Roma (Interview) (in Italian). Interviewed by Stefano Lorenzetto. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  10. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXVIII. 1996. p. 358. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  11. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XCI. 1999. p. 1004. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 08.12.2008" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  13. 1 2 Antunes, Joaquim (12 July 2018). "Igreja: Homenagem ao Sr. Núncio Apostólico nos 50 anos de sacerdócio". Salesianos.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  14. ↑ Marujo, António (14 October 2017). "Bispos e padres acusam núncio em Lisboa de ser pouco humano e nada 'franciscano'". Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Resignations and Appointments, 04.07.2019" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  16. 1 2 Portuguese Presidency Website, Orders search form: type "Joan-Enric Vives i" in "nome", then click "Pesquisar"
  17. ↑ "Papa aceitou renúncia ao cargo do Núncio Apostólico em Portugal". Voz Portugalense (in Portuguese). 4 July 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Burundi
16 December 1991 – 18 March 1996		Succeeded by
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia
18 March 1996 – 17 July 1999		Succeeded by
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to Peru
17 July 1999 – 8 November 2008		Succeeded by
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal
8 November 2008 – 4 July 2019		Succeeded by
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