Pope Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Roberto Campisi as the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to UNESCO in Paris.
On 27 September it was announced that the Sicilian-born prelate, who had spent the past three years as Assessor for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State and deputy to Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, was leaving his post. His departure marks the first time in living memory that an assessor has left office without being raised to the episcopate.
Monsignor Campisi’s promotion to assessor in October 2022 made him one of the rising figures of the Francis pontificate. Ordained in 2002, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2010 and was swiftly advanced under Pope Francis, who entrusted him with sensitive posts at the centre of Roman governance.
In February, just before the late Pope Francis was admitted to hospital, he was placed in charge of the newly created Commission for Donations to the Holy See. The body was established to streamline fundraising efforts across the Curia, and Monsignor Campisi was tasked with designing its structure and overseeing its first steps.
The posting to Paris removes Monsignor Campisi from the centre of Vatican administration, placing him instead in a prominent international role. The Permanent Observer to UNESCO represents the Holy See at the United Nations’ Paris-based agency, dealing with matters of education, science, and culture.
The office has traditionally been entrusted to seasoned diplomats and is considered an important, though less politically charged, assignment than posts in the Secretariat of State. Campisi’s predecessors have included future nuncios and senior Vatican officials.
The move also comes against the backdrop of broader changes in the governance of the Holy See. Francis’s final years were marked by attempts to reorganise the Curia, reduce financial inefficiencies, and strengthen oversight of donations. The Commission for Donations, though only recently created, symbolised that push. Its future direction under new leadership remains to be seen.
(Photo by EVANDRO INETTI/Vatican Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
