Leo XIV reorders the Curia with new appointments
Archbishop Peña Parra is to become Nuncio to Italy, and the current Nuncio wil finally fill the vacant Prefect of the Papal Household role
(Pelican+) — Pope Leo XIV has moved the powerful number two in the Secretariat of State to be Nuncio to Italy and finally filled the role of head of the papal household, thus effecting a change believed to grant Leo more autonomy over his decisions and daily life.
Announced in the daily bulletin on March 30, Leo has enacted a veritable changing of the guard in a number of key Vatican posts, serving as one of the most significant moves of his pontificate so far.
Archbishop Peña Parra is leaving his post as “Sostituto” in the Secretariat of State, and taking up the role of Papal Nuncio to Italy and the Republic of San Marino.
The outgoing current Nuncio to Italy – Archbishop Petar Rajič – is brought to the very heart of the Vatican, becoming the Prefect of the Papal Household. This is a position left empty since the departure of Archbishop Georg Gänswein in February 2023.
Finally, to replace Peña Parra as Sostituto, Leo has brought in Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, who up until now has been the Nuncio in Colombia.
All such nominations have been expected in recent weeks, thanks to the investigative reporting conducted by Vaticanist Nico Spuntoni. But what does this three-fold change mean?
Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, a Venezuelan, is a long-time official in the Diplomatic Corps and then the Roman Curia. After joining in the early 1990’s, he served in several nunciatures before being made Nuncio to Pakistan by Pope Benedict and then Mozambique by Pope Francis.
He was then made Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State in October 2018 – a position which essentially puts, hierarchically, places him behind only the Secretary of State, and in fact affords more regular and guaranteed time with the Pope than the Secretary of State can count on. In essence, since 2018, Peña Parra has wielded immense power in the Holy See and consequently further afield.
Recently, Spuntoni reported that Leo XIV had sought to promote Peña Parra away from the Holy See, the time-honored ‘promoting to remove’ strategy. According to Spuntoni, Peña Parra refused the first two options offered to him but, as per protocol, was unable to refuse a third. That final offering from the Pope was to become Papal Nuncio to Italy. News of such negotiations was corroborated by additional Italian sources.
Peña Parra has been at the heart of a number of scandals in the Vatican – detailed below.
Papal Household now complete
But in filling the position of Prefect of the Papal Household, Leo thus corrects an error which has lasted some three years, following Ganswein’s ejection from the Vatican.
In the ensuing three years, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, as regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, has de facto led the Household as the ranking member. But in November, Leo showed signs of wanting to organize the Household according to his desires, and thus ensure who has access to him.
Indeed, the Prefect of the Household orchestrates the Pope’s diary, all his private and public audiences, any non-liturgical ceremonies, and any papal travel within Italy – an immensely important role.
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