VATICAN CITY, November 8 (RIA Novosti) — Pope Francis has appointed on Saturday Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher as the new head of the Holy See's foreign affairs department.
In his position as Secretary for foreign relations at the Vatican Secretariat of State, Gallagher succeeded Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, who in turn has been appointed Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher was born on January 23, 1954 in Liverpool. At 23, he was ordained as a priest. After earning a doctorate in canon law in 1984 he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has held various positions in Tanzania, Uruguay, the Philippines, Burundi, Guatemala and worked at the Council of Europe before he became a bishop at 50.
Until recently Gallagher was Apostolic Nuncio in Australia. He speaks English, Italian, French and Spanish.
