Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States

The Organization of American States was founded in 1948 and the first Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States was appointed in 1978. For the next thirty years, the person named permanent observer was the same Vatican diplomat who served as papal representative to the United States even as that diplomat’s title changed from apostolic delegate to apostolic pro-nuncio to nuncio. In 2012, with Pope Benedict XVI's second appointment of a permanent observer to the OAS, the first under Tarcisio Bertone as Vatican Secretary of State, the title went instead to the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York. Pope Francis and Secretary of State Pietro Parolin maintained that new pattern in 2014, and then in 2019 appointed the first observer to hold only that position.

Observers

• Jean Jadot (1978[1] – 27 June 1980)[2]
• Pio Laghi (10 December 1980[3] – 6 April 1990)[4]
• Agostino Cacciavillan (13 June 1990[5] – 5 November 1998)[6]
• Gabriel Montalvo Higuera (December 1998[7] – 17 December 2005)[8]
• Pietro Sambi (17 December 2005[8] – 27 July 2011)[9]
• Francis Assisi Chullikatt (21 August 2012[lower-alpha 1] – July 2014)[lower-alpha 2]
• Bernardito Auza (16 July 2014[13][lower-alpha 3] – 31 August 2019)[15]
• Mark Miles (31 August 2019[15] – 5 February 2021)[16]
• Juan Antonio Cruz Serrano (5 February 2021[16] – present)

Notes

1. The date of Chullikatt's appointment is unknown. He presented his credentials on 21 August 2012.[10]
2. The date Chullikatt's assignment ended is unknown.[11] He did not receive another diplomatic assignment until April 2016.[12]
3. Auza's assignment to the OAS followed his appointment as observer to the United Nations on 2 July.[14]

References

1. "Archbishop Jadot, former apostolic delegate in US, dies in Belgium". Catholic News Service. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
2. "Influential Papal Delegate to U.S. Is Named to a High Vatican Post". New York Times. 28 June 1980. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
3. "Pope Designates a New Apostolic Delegate to U.S." New York Times. 14 December 1980. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
4. Goldman, Ari L. (21 April 1990). "Religion Notes". New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
5. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXXII. 1990. p. 738. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
6. "Cacciavillan Card. Agostino" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
7. "In Brief". Washington Post. 26 December 1998. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
8. "Rinunce e nomine, 17.12.2005" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 17 December 2005. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
9. Lackey, Jim (27 July 2011). "Vatican nuncio to U.S. Archbishop Sambi dies". Catholic News Service. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
10. "Vatican Representative Presents his Credentials to the OAS Secretary General" (Press release). Organization of American States. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
11. White, Christopher (11 March 2019). "Former UN envoy's tenure described as 'horror story' for staff". Crux. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
12. "Rinunce e Nomine, 30.04.2016" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
13. "Rinunce e nomine, 16.07.2014" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
14. Viehland, N.J. (2 July 2014). "Pope Francis appoints Filipino as new Vatican rep to the UN". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
15. "Resignations and Appointments, 31.08.2019" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
16. "Resignations and Appointments, 05.02.2021" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.