The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has appointed His Excellency Monsignor Miguel Maury Buendía, Titular Archbishop of Italica and until now, Apostolic Nuncio in Romania and Moldova, as Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. Born in Madrid on 19 Nov 1955, Archbishop Maury Buendía studied philosophy and theology in the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid before being ordained a priest for the Archdiocese on 26 June 1980. Having followed a two-year program of studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, he entered the Holy See’s diplomatic service in July 1987.
In 2004, having served in diplomatic missions in several countries, he was called to the Section for Relations with States within the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. In 2008, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Italica and Apostolic Nuncio to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Romania on 5 December 2015, and to the Republic of Moldova on 25 January 2016.
He was appointed the Apostolic Nuncio to the Court of St. James’s on 13 April 2023, filling a post vacant since the previous Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, was named prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches on 21 November 2022.
The President of the Conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said:
‘I welcome the appointment of Archbishop Miguel Buendía as Papal Nuncio in Great Britain. On behalf of our Bishops’ Conference I assure him not only of our warm welcome but also of our full cooperation when he takes up these new responsibilities.’
As a Diocese we also extend a warm welcome to Archbishop Miguel and Canon Paul Cummins, our Diocesan Administrator encourages us to offer our prayers for him and his ministry here in the UK.