Missio England and Wales joins the Bishops’ Conference in welcoming His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, recently appointed by the Holy Father as Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain.
Missio’s National Director, Fr Anthony Chantry, welcomed the Archbishop to his new appointment, saying:
‘On behalf of all of us at Missio England & Wales, I warmly welcome you as our newly appointed Apostolic Nuncio and I wish you a very happy and fruitful time as our direct link with the Holy Father. Missio has always enjoyed a mutually supportive relationship with the Nunciature and we look forward to maintaining this.’
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has also welcomed Archbishop Buendía to the role, saying:
‘I welcome the appointment of Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía as Papal Nuncio to Great Britain. On behalf of our Bishops’ Conference, I assure him not only of our warm welcome but also of our full cooperation when he takes up these new responsibilities.’
What does an Apostolic Nuncio do?
An Apostolic Nuncio is essentially a diplomat of the Church. Similar to a secular state diplomat, the Nuncio seeks to maintain good relationships between Church and State, for the peace and progress of each nation, and peace between different peoples. To promote and foster relationships between the Apostolic See and State authorities.
Who is Archbishop Maury Buendía?
Archbishop Maury Buendía was born in 1955 in Madrid. He studied philosophy and theology at the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid and was ordained a Priest for the Archdiocese on 26 June 1980.
He followed a two-year program of studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, and entered the Holy See’s diplomatic service in July 1987. He has served in diplomatic missions in several countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Morocco, Nicaragua, Egypt, Slovenia and Ireland.
In 2004, he was called to the Section for Relations with States within the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Four years later, in 2008, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Italica in Spain and Apostolic Nuncio to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Romania on 5 December 2015, and to the Republic of Moldova on 25 January 2016.
He was appointed the Apostolic Nuncio to the Court of St James’ on 13 April 2023, filling a post vacant since the previous Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, was named prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches on 21 November 2022.
Welcome, Archbishop!
Please join us in welcoming and praying for Archbishop Maury Buendía as he takes up his new role.