Vatican Diplomacy
...it origins can be traced to the very first enturies of the Catholic Church when papal legates, "legati a latere," were sent by the Popes to represent them at important councils or for other matters. In fact, a legate was present at the Council of Nicea in 325.
Though the mission of the early papal representatives was primarily spiritual in nature, changes began to occur between the fifth and eighth centuries when Popes sent temporary emissaries to special civil ceremonies as well as to religious events.
In the mid-15th century, permanent papal representation began to appear and by the 16th century, history records the establishment of apostolic nunciatures in different countries, with an exchange of representatives between those countries and the Holy See. The very first apostolic nunciature was established in Venice in 1500.
As affirmed in the Vienna Diplomatic Convention of April 18, 1961, the Holy See's ambassadors, or apostolic nuncios, are considered the deans of the diplomatic corps of the country to which they are accredited. Where such a precedence "de iure" does not exist, the Holy See nonetheless sets up a nunciature, which is headed by a nuncio with the rank of ambassador.
The Holy See exercises both the "active" right of sending emissaries to other nations and the "passive" right of receiving their emissaries. Today the Holy See exchanges representatives with 162 nations.
On June 24, 1969, Pope Paul VI, who during Vatican Council II had expressed the wish that the functions of papal legates be more clearly defined, issued the Motu Proprio "Sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum" (The Care of All the Churches), which dealt with precisely such issues.
This Motu Proprio categorized the papal representatives as follows: apostolic nuncio, an archbishop with the rank of ambassador who represents the Holy Father to the local Catholic Church and to the...
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