Francis appointed Archbishop Claudio Gujerotti as the Vatican’s Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain following the resignation of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.
Monsignor Joji Vadakara, Vatican City
Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Claudio Gujerotti, a Vatican diplomat from the Italian city of Verona, as the new head of the Vatican Dicastery for the Eastern Churches of the Catholic Church. Since 2007, the position has been held by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri. The new appointment comes after he turned 79 yesterday. Cardinal Sandri was appointed Prefect of the then Congregation for the Oriental Churches in 1997 by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Pope Francis renewed the appointment in 2014. The new prefect will take office in mid-January.
The new chief
Born in Verona in 1955, Archbishop Gujerotti was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Verona in 1982. After receiving a licentiate in liturgy from Anselmo University in Rome, he received a doctorate in ecclesiology from the Pontifical Oriental Institute. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Venice, Padua, the Gregorian University in Rome, and the Pontifical Oriental Institute.
Under the Holy See
Since 1985, he has served in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches under the Holy See. In 1997, he was elected as the Undersecretary of this Congregation. From 1990 to 2001 he served as a member of the Pontifical Council for Liturgical Affairs. In 2001, he was appointed Archbishop of Ravello and Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and consecrated Archbishop on January 6, 2002 by Pope John Paul II. He was later posted to Belarus in 2011 and Great Britain in 2020.
Archbishop Gujeroti, who has advanced studies in Oriental literature and languages, has written several books in addition to translations from the Armenian language.