THE P RTAL
March 2017 Page 12
Farewell to the Apostolic Nuncio – a real friend to the Ordinariate
Dr Gill James reports on the Mass of Thanksgiving and Farewell to our Papal Nuncio , His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini
It was announced on 20th January 2017 that the Papal Nuncio was being recalled to Rome to take up a post in the Secretariat of State ( with special reference to Italy ). The day before returning to Rome on 6th February there was a Mass of Thanksgiving in Westminster Cathedral for his ministry as Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain .
While waiting for Mass to start some stray thoughts occurred to me . He will be greatly missed – both for his ever-present smile but also for his encouragement and support he has provided to the Ordinariate in particular and the church at large more generally . The Bishops ’ Conference of England and Wales praised his insight and wisdom and he has been a welcome visitor in Scotland on his many visits north of the border for the sensitive and helpful way he has fulfilled his mission .
2011 was really the first time I became aware of the Papal Nuncio . How could I miss the photograph coverage of the day that he presented his letters of appointment to HM the Queen ? It caught my eye because he travelled to Buckingham Palace in a horse drawn carriage which was driven by one of the servers at Westminster Cathedral .
A Papal Nuncio is a diplomat with political and ecclesiastical powers . Hence the Mass was attended by representatives of both aspects of his role . For example , the Archbishop of Canterbury was represented by the Bishop of Ebbsfleet . Members of the diplomatic corps also attended . It is a role which has gradually evolved over centuries stretching back to the Middle Ages and possibly longer .
The word Nuncio clarifies his role as it means messenger and he basically facilitates communications between the Holy See and the country to which he has been appointed . Archbishop Mennini entered the diplomatic service in 1981 and since then he has held various appointments . Latterly he served as Nuncio in Russia and Uzbekistan where he achieved notable improvements in relations between Russia and the
Holy See before coming to Great Britain .
In his ecclesiastical role , the Nuncio plays a central role in appointing successors to retired or retiring bishops . He acts as liaison between the local Church and the Holy See and had an important role in the selection of bishops , because of the substantial number of appointments waiting or pending In England , Scotland and Wales .
The Tablet postulated ( at the time of his appointment ) that the appointment could have been linked to facilitating the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate in the UK . The appointment was made by Pope Benedict which also supports such a viewpoint . In the time between the erection of the personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and his recall to Rome ( 2011- 2017 ) the Nuncio has been a good friend in many ways , indeed . Fr Keith , Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham , commented that “ he has been a real friend to the Ordinariate ”.
Since the Ordinariate started using Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory in Warwick Street , he has celebrated the Chrism Mass during Holy Week . At these celebrations ( which are always full ) he arrives and departs with a smile and following some words of encouragement and hope . He has also generously allowed the Friends of the Ordinariate to use his garden to organise some fund-raising events .
At the end of mass the Nuncio thanked Cardinal Nichols and the cathedral for organising this Mass and thanked everyone for the support and prayers he had received since the news of his recall to Rome was announced .