Papal Nuncio to Speak at Benedictine College

ATCHINSON, KS (02/03/2009)(readMedia)-- Archbishop Celestino Migliore, The Vatican's Ambassador to the United Nations, will speak at Benedictine College at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m. in O'Malley-McAllister Auditorium on the college campus. The subject of his presentation is "The Role of the Catholic Church in the United Nations." The event is free and open to the public.

With the formal title of His Excellency, The Most Reverend Celestino Migliore, Titular Archbishop of Canosa, Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, he is the Vatican's lead envoy at the U.N. Andrew Morris, a Benedictine student and former president of school's Student International Business Council, had the opportunity to meet him through the organization's international internship program. As a follow-up to that meeting, an invitation to visit the Benedictine campus was extended by Morris, Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Benedictine College is recognized as one of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report and as one of the top 20 Catholic colleges in America by the Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.

Archbishop Migliore joined the Holy See's diplomatic service in 1980 upon graduating from the Pontifical Academy for Ecclesiastical Diplomacy. His first assignment was to Angola where, from 1980 to 1984 he served as 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 as Counsellor to the Apostolic Nunciature in Warsaw, Poland, a post he held until his appointment in April 1992 as Special Envoy with the role of Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

On October 30, 2002, His Holiness Pope John Paul II nominated the Archbishop as Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. During his time at the U.N., Archbishop Migliore has dealt with issues such as women's rights, HIV, AIDS and global health, the ozone layer, and international peace-building. He has addressed the U.N. General Assembly quite often and has even spoken before the Security Council.
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