The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has appointed His Excellency, Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, Titular Archbishop of Illici, up until now the Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland.

In a statement, the President of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, said, “I very much welcome the news that Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor as Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland.  I pray God’s blessings on Archbishop Mariano and look forward to meeting with him when he takes up his appointment in Ireland in the near future.”

As Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Montemayor succeeds Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo who was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Czechia in May 2022.

The new Nuncio was born in Argentina in 1956 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1985.  He served in Ethiopia, Brazil, Thailand, and the
Secretariat of State in Rome before being ordained Titular Archbishop of Illici in 2008 and appointed Nuncio in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau e Capo Verde and Apostolic Delegate in Mauritania. In 2015, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio in the Democratic Republic of Congo and from 2018 in Colombia.