Catholic social doctrine is getting a spotlight these days, perhaps meaning its time as the "Church's best-kept secret" is over. Arguably, there's another "best-kept secret" in the Church, and that's the work of the large corps of diplomats, which, as Pope Leo recently noted, do their crucial work almost always behind the scenes.
Sometimes, a special event does shine a spotlight on this group of people who are trained in dialogue, peacemaking, and finding a way to advance human dignity step by step, often in very adverse situations.
The Vatican Secretary of State spoke about the training center for the Church's diplomats, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, in an interview with Vatican Media for the Academy’s 325th anniversary.
A global leader
With these two entities, there are 93 diplomatic missions based in Rome, as well as the offices of the Arab League, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Only 12 countries do not have formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
The states with no formal relations with the Vatican at all are Afghanistan, Bhutan, the People's Republic of China (except for temporary pastoral agreements signed in 2018), North Korea, and the Maldives.
The institution, based in Rome’s Piazza della Minerva, prepares priests for diplomatic service on behalf of the Holy See. Pope Leo XIV visited the Academy on April 27, his first visit there since his election.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy has a renewed responsibility to form diplomats capable of building “concrete paths of peace” at a time of deep instability in the international order.
Parolin said the Academy must train future pontifical representatives to read global situations clearly, engage in dialogue, and discern the needs of peoples and nations. He described their work as more than diplomacy in the political sense, saying it is rooted in the Church’s mission and in service to the Pope’s care for local Churches.
The cardinal stressed that the Holy See’s diplomatic activity cannot be reduced to “soft power.” Students, he said, are formed to interpret international events through the Church’s social teaching, while also cultivating priestly virtues such as listening, humility, dialogue, and closeness to others.
Cardinal Parolin also pointed to reforms introduced under Pope Francis, which reshaped the Academy as an Institute of Higher Formation in Diplomatic Sciences. The institution now grants licentiate and doctoral degrees and includes studies in law, history, political science, economics, languages, and ecclesiastical disciplines.
The cardinal said the current crisis of diplomacy is visible in the return of force, the weakening of international law, and the difficulty of preventing or resolving conflicts. In that context, he said, technical preparation is not enough.
“A diplomat is called first to bear witness and only then to negotiate,” Cardinal Parolin said.
During his visit, Pope Leo XIV also emphasized that pontifical diplomacy is at the service of peace, truth, and justice, and called future diplomats to be “bridges” and “channels” in history.
