Pope Francis has appointed a new Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty for the Catholic Church in Nigeria to succeed Archbishop Antonio Filipazzi.
President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop of Owerri Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji who confirmed the development in a statement noted that Archbishop Crotty becomes the first Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria from Ireland.
“We are thankful to His Holiness, Pope Francis, for appointing Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty as the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria to build on the good works of his predecessor, Archbishop Antonio Filipazzi.”
Archbishop Crotty was appointed Special Envoy of the Holy See to attend the presidential inauguration of President Bola Tinubu in May 2023.
The new Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria described his appointment as, “a cause of great joy”, and pledged to serve to the best of his abilities as the Holy Father’s representative to all Nigerians, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds.
Archbishop Crotty was nuncio to Burkina Faso and Niger before his current appointment.
He was born on March 26, 1970 and was ordained a priest for the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland, on July 3, 1994.
Crotty was elevated to the rank of Archbishop and appointed to the titular See of Lindisfarne on February 1, 2020, when Pope Francis appointed him as the Apostolic Nuncio to Burkina Faso.
Having joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2001, Archbishop Crotty has held various key roles, serving as Secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya from 2001 to 2004 and as Deputy Head of Mission of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to UNEP and UN-HABITAT.
He was from 2004 to 2007, the First Secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature in Canada, Ottawa, followed by a term as First Secretary in Iraq (Baghdad) and Jordan (Amman) from 2007 to 2009.
Returning to the Vatican in 2009, Archbishop Crotty worked as an Official of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State until 2017.
He then served as First Counsellor at the Apostolic Nunciature in Spain, Madrid, until his appointment to Burkina Faso in 2020.
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