Bangalore 21 January 2017: His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed Hi Excellency Most Rev. Giambattista Diquattro, till now Apostolic Nuncio in Bolivia, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal. This ecclesiastical provision was made public in Rome on Saturday, 21st January, 2017, at noon local time, corresponding to 16:30 hours, Indian Standard Time.
The Most Reverend Giambattista Diquattro was born in Bologna (Italy) on 18 March 1954. He was ordained a priest in Ragusa on 24 August1981. He received his Master’s Degree in civil law from the University of Catania, his Doctorate in Canon Law (JCD) from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, and his Master’s Degree in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He joined the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See on 1 May 1985, serving continuous missions in the Pontifical Representations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad, the United Nations (in New York), and later in the Secretariat of State of His Holiness – Section for Relations with States, and in the Apostolic Nunciature in Italy. On 2 April 2005, Saint John Paul II appointed him Titular Archbishop of Giromonte and Apostolic Nuncio to Panama. His Episcopal Ordination took place on 4 June 2005, in the cathedral of Ragusa, and he began his mission in Panama on 12 July 2005. On 21 November 2008, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia. He is fluent in French, Spanish and English.