THE Vatican has named US-born Archbishop Ambrose B. De Paoli as Australia’s new apostolic nuncio.
The appointment was announced on December 19.
Archbishop De Paoli, 70, succeeds Archbishop Francesco Canalini, who left Australia in October to become apostolic nuncio to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Archbishop De Paoli was ordained a priest in 1960 and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1966.
He has served in the apostolic nunciatures in Zambia, Venezuela, Canada and in the Secretariat of State in Vatican City.
In 1983, Archbishop De Paoli was appointed Titular Archbishop of Lares and apostolic nuncio to Sri Lanka.
He has also served in South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia. Since 1997, he has been apostolic nuncio to Japan.
Archbishop De Paoli is expected to arrive in the first few months of 2005.