Vatican Ambassador Paul Gallagher Joins George Pell

By Dennis Shanahan
The Australian
November 11, 2014

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THE Vatican’s Ambassador to Australia, British archbishop Paul Gallagher, has been appointed the Holy See’s Foreign Minister, joining Sydney’s Cardinal George Pell as another new broom in a top papal post.

The 60-year-old Archbishop Gallagher was born in Liverpool and became the first English-born ambassador for the Holy See when he was appointed to Guatemala in 2009. He became the Apostolic Nuncio to Australia in April last year.

As well as Australia, he has served in the Vatican’s diplomatic corps in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, often in countries torn by civil war.

Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Gallagher, the first Briton to serve as Secretary for Relations with States, to replace one of his conservative critics, US cardinal Raymond Burke, in a continuing shake-up of the Vatican bureaucracy.

Foreign Minister for the Holy See is considered the third-highest position in the Vatican, which has diplomatic relations with more than 150 countries.