The Pope appoints a veteran Vatican diplomat as new ambassador to the US to manage relations with Trump

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday named a veteran Vatican diplomat as its new ambassador to the United States to manage one of the Holy See’s most important bilateral relationships, which has been under strain over the Trump administration’s war in Iran and immigration crackdown.

Italian Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, 68, is currently the Holy See’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He replaces French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who at age 80 is retiring as apostolic nuncio to Washington.

Caccia served as the Holy See’s ambassador to Lebanon and the Philippines before being posted to the UN in 2019. Ordained a priest in Milan in 1983, Caccia later served as an “advisor” in the Vatican’s secretariat of state, a key administrative position in the Holy See’s most important office.

He inherits a complicated and transcendental file both on the fronts of the Church and the State of the United States.

Pierre’s tenure as ambassador was highlighted by clear signs of friction between the leadership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which tends to lean conservative, and the more progressive priorities of Pope Francis’ pontificate.

The relationship with the United States and its Church is crucial for the Holy See, especially since American Catholics are the most generous donors to the Holy See’s coffers.

Leo, the first American-born pope in history, is well aware of the dynamic, having served as Francis’ point man in appointing bishops for two years before his election in 2025. Leo has emphasized a message of peacemaking and unity in the church.

The first Trump administration clashed with Francis especially in matters of migrationand that tension has continued throughout Leo’s pontificate and Trump’s second term. Leo has repeatedly insisted that the Trump administration respect the human dignity of migrants, while recognizing their right to its borders.

More recently, Leo expressed “deep concern” about the US-Israel war in Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

In comments last Sunday, Leo called for the resumption of diplomacy. Weapons, he stated, only sow “destruction, pain and death.”

In a major foreign policy speech earlier this year, Leo also made clear that he opposed the aggressive use of military power by the United States, in an apparent reference to Washington’s incursion into Venezuela and threats to take Greenland. He denounced how nations were using force to assert their dominance around the world and “completely undermine” peace and the post-World War II international legal order.

The Holy See has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality, although León has spoken out strongly against the humanitarian toll of Israel’s military action in Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The current president of the American conference, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, welcomed Caccia’s appointment and offered the American hierarchy “the warmest welcome and our prayerful support.”