Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of mons. Charles Daniel Balvo as apostolic nuncio to Australia, having reached the age limit established for pontifical representatives. The decision was announced this Tuesday by the Holy See Press Office.
Mons. Balvo, titular archbishop of Castello, has served as the Holy See’s diplomatic representative in Australia since January 2022, when he was sent by Pope Francis to succeed Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana.
A long diplomatic career
Born in New York in 1951, Charles Daniel Balvo was ordained a priest in 1976 and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1990. Over more than three decades he developed an extensive career in pontifical diplomacy, serving in the Holy See’s representations in various countries, including Ghana, Ecuador, Chile, Kenya, El Salvador and New Zealand.
In 2005 he was appointed apostolic nuncio and titular archbishop of Castello by Benedict XVI. Since then he has successively held the nunciatures of New Zealand and the Pacific islands, later that of the Czech Republic, and finally that of Australia.
Awaiting a successor
With the acceptance of his resignation, the apostolic nunciature in Australia is now vacant. For the time being, the Holy See has not announced who will succeed mons. Balvo at the head of the pontifical representation in Canberra.