Archbishop Paul Coakley is celebrating the appointment of Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia as papal nuncio to the U.S.
“It is with joy that I welcome the news that our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has appointed as his personal representative and nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Caccia,” he said in a March 7 statement. “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.”
The Holy See announced Caccia’s appointment on March 7.
Caccia has served as the Holy See’s permanent observer at the United Nations in New York since 2019. The Italian diplomat previously served as nuncio, the pope’s diplomatic representative, to Lebanon and the Philippines.
Caccia was born in Milan, Italy, in February 1958 and ordained a priest in 1983. He joined the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See in 1991 and served his first post at the apostolic nunciature in Tanzania.
He was appointed apostolic nuncio to Lebanon and titular archbishop of Sepino in 2009 and later as apostolic nuncio to the Philippines by Pope Francis in 2017.
Coakley also expressed his “sincere and prayerful appreciation” to Caccia’s predecessor, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who retired after turning 80 in January.
“I have had many opportunities to work with Cardinal Pierre over the years, particularly over the last four months through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,” he said. “Thank you, Your Eminence, for your tireless service to the Church in the United States, and on behalf of my brother bishops, I offer our heartfelt prayers and best wishes in your retirement.”
The French-born Pierre served as apostolic nuncio to the U.S. for nearly 10 years — spanning three U.S. presidential terms and two pontificates. Pierre’s retirement marks the end of an ecclesiastical diplomatic career that began in 1977 with his first role in New Zealand and included stints in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Brazil, and the United Nations in Geneva.
