THE new Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Luciano Storero, flew in to Dublin airport yesterday where he was greeted by the Primate, Cardinal Daly, and the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell (pictured left).
Also in the welcoming party were the acting head of the diplomatic corps, the Greek ambassador, Mr Hannibal Valliavus; the charge d'affaires at the nunciature, Mgr Salvatore Pennacchio; and the deputy chief of protocol at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Kathleen White.
The new nuncio (69) was a diplomat in the Dublin nunciature from 1959 to 1962.
Since then he has served in the US, Sri Lanka, the Dominican Republic, Cameroon and Gabon, India, Venezuela and Greece.
The papal nuncio is the ambassador of the Vatican to the Irish state and the Holy See's representative to the Irish Catholic Church, particularly to its bishops conference.