Continuity and renewal. Pope Leo, with the appointments of last March 30, has strengthened the diplomatic system of the Holy See with a physiological change that does not, however, renounce the skills of the figures who have worked in closer contact with Pope Francis. And so the state substitute, Monsignor Edgar Peña Parra, becomes apostolic nuncio to Italy and the Republic of San Marino. At 66 years old the Venezuelan bishop, he thus leaves the role of Vatican “Minister of the Interior”, practically the third most important position after the Pontiff himself and the Secretary of State, to move to the nunciature in via Po, in Rome and thus become the pontifical representative to the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Italian State. The appointment of such a powerful personality is part of the aim of strengthening both relations with the Italian episcopate and with the institutions of our country. The nuncio in Rome, in fact, is not just a diplomat, but a direct bridge between the Pope and the Italian dioceses and between the Vatican and the State.
In his place comes Monsignor Paolo Rudelli, 56 years old, originally from Bergamo, a career diplomat. He returns to the secretariat of state where he had already served in the past. To date, Nuncio in Colombia, he boasts a highly respectable curriculum: representative in Zimbabwe, permanent observer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and previous positions in the nunciatures of Ecuador and Poland. It is said that he is very close, like his predecessor, to Cardinal Pietro Parolin with whom he will collaborate closely. From the desk of the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State (this is the full name of the position) the most delicate dossiers pass, from the relationship with the Dicasteries to appointments in the Vatican offices up to the organization of papal trips. His is the second important appointment in the Secretariat of State after that, last November, of the Nigerian theologian Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo as Assessor.
Almost like in a game of dominoes then, if Monsignor Peña Parra becomes Nuncio in Italy in place of Monsignor Petar Rajič, the latter is called as the new Prefect of the Papal Household, a position that has remained vacant since 2023. That of prefect is a role of very close proximity to the Pope, given that it is the prefecture of the Papal Household that is responsible for internal order and the daily management of the Pontiff’s life. Specifically, it organizes hearings (public, private and for heads of state) and prepares pontifical ceremonies.
The fact that all three figures are diplomats with long experience and canonists is not secondary. A sign that the Pope, in such a delicate historical moment for the world, wants to try to open international relations as much as possible within precise legal frameworks. Finally, it should be noted that, if an Italian returns as State Substitute, as was tradition, the Pontiff retains, however, all the weight of the Latin American Church in key roles.
