Archbishop from New York named Pope’s rep in Australia

Archbishop Balvo returns to Oceania, which was his first diplomatic assignment in 2005.

Pope Francis has named Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo as apostolic nuncio to Australia, the Vatican press office announced on January 17. The New York native has a long diplomatic career behind him, since first being sent to New Zealand in 2005, and serving most recently in the Czech Republic.

Born in 1951, Charles Balvo was ordained a priest in 1976 and joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1987. In 2005, he was entrusted with the many nunciatures in the Pacific, including New Zealand and Fiji, becoming the “apostolic delegate of the Pacific Ocean.”