MIGLIORE, Celestino
His Excellency Archbishop Celestino MiglioreA native of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region of Italy, His Excellency Archbishop Celestino Migliore was born on 1 July 1952. He was ordained a priest on 25 June 1977.
Archbishop Migliore obtained a master's degree in theology at the Center of Theological Studies in Fossano. He then pursued his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University, where he was awarded the Doctorate in Canon Law. In 1980, after graduating from the Pontifical Academy for Ecclesiastical Diplomacy, he joined the Holy See's diplomatic service.
His first assignment was to Angola where, from 1980 to 1984 he served as attaché and second secretary to the Apostolic Delegation. From there, he was transferred to the Apostolic Nunciature in the United States of America where he served also as Alternate Observer to the Organization of American States. In 1988 he was appointed to the Apostolic Nunciature in Egypt, remaining there for a year. He was then assigned at the Apostolic Nunciature in Warsaw, Poland, a post he held until his appointment on 14 April 1992 as Special Envoy with the role of Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.
From December 1995 to October 2002, he served as Under-Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, at the Vatican. During his term, he was also in charge of fostering relations with several Asian countries that do not yet have formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See. In this capacity, he traveled to Beijing, Hanoi, and P'yongyang as Head of Delegation of the Holy See.
On 9-20 July 2001, Archbishop Migliore led the Delegation of the Holy See to the United Nations Conference on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, held in New York. He also represented the Holy See at numerous other conferences, symposia and panels held in various European capitals on issues related to the World Trade Organization, the Economic Commission for Europe, the European Union, and the Middle East.
While in Rome, he also taught Ecclesiastical Diplomacy at the Pontifical Lateran University as a Visiting Professor.
On 30 October 2002, His Holiness Pope John Paul II nominated Archbishop Celestino Migliore as Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, in New York.
Archbishop Migliore is the fourth Permanent Observer of the Holy See, after Monsignor Giovannetti and Cardinals Cheli and Martino.