Pope names veteran Vatican diplomat as ambassador to the US to manage relations with Trump

ROME — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday named a veteran Vatican diplomat as his new ambassador to the United States to manage one of the Holy See’s most important bilateral relationships at a crucial time, with ties strained over the Trump administration’s war in Iran and immigration crackdown.

Italian Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, 68, is currently the Holy See’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He replaces French-born Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who at age 80 is retiring as apostolic nuncio in Washington.

Caccia served as the Holy See’s ambassador to Lebanon and the Philippines before being posted to the U.N. in 2019. Ordained a priest in Milan in 1983, Caccia later served as “assessor” in the Vatican secretariat of state, a key administrative post in the Holy See’s most important office.

He inherits a complicated and consequential dossier on both the U.S. Church and state fronts at a time of global turmoil.

Pierre’s tenure as ambassador was notable for clear signs of friction between the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which tends to skew conservative, and the more progressive priorities of Pope Francis’ pontificate.

The relationship with the U.S. and its Church is crucial for