Pope Leo XIV has appointed Msgr. Paul Butnaru as special envoy and permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, according to information released this Thursday by the Holy See Press Office. The Romanian priest, previously assigned to the pontifical representation in Canada, has fourteen years of diplomatic experience and has participated in missions of the Secretariat of State related to some of the major international crises of recent years.
Butnaru, 47, has served in the nunciatures of Ethiopia, Venezuela, and Bulgaria, and later worked in the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State. His career includes the Vatican mission to Belarus during the 2020 crisis and, more recently, his participation in the Holy See delegation to the Peace Summit on Ukraine held in Switzerland in 2024.
Trained for pontifical diplomacy
Paul Butnaru was born on November 13, 1978, in Piatra Neamț, Romania. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 2004, and is incardinated in the diocese of Iași. He holds a degree in Philosophy.
His preparation for diplomatic service took place at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, the institution responsible for training priests assigned to pontifical representations. Sources from the diocese of Iași already documented his presence among the Academy’s students in 2011 and later confirmed that he completed his formation in 2012.
On July 1 of that year, he formally entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See. His first assignment was the Apostolic Nunciature in Ethiopia, where he served as secretary.
He later passed through the pontifical representations in Venezuela and Bulgaria before joining the Secretariat of State. The Vatican bulletin published this Thursday includes the three countries among the postings that preceded his time in Rome.
Sent to Belarus during the 2020 crisis
One of the most delicate missions in which Butnaru’s participation is officially recorded took place in September 2020. At that time, he accompanied Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, during a four-day visit to Belarus, just weeks after the controversial presidential elections and amid the country’s political crisis.
Vatican News identified Butnaru as a nunciature secretary assigned to the Section for Relations with States. Together with Gallagher and Nuncio Antonio Mennini, he arrived in Minsk on September 11 and proceeded directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The delegation held a meeting there lasting approximately an hour and a half with the then Belarusian Foreign Minister, Vladimir Makei. According to Vatican information, the conversation addressed relations between Belarus and the Holy See and the situation of the Catholic Church in the country.
Butnaru’s participation in that mission does not allow personal attribution of the positions or decisions adopted by pontifical diplomacy, but it shows that he was already integrated into delegations of the Secretariat of State sent to particularly sensitive scenarios.
Alongside Parolin in diplomacy on Ukraine
Four years later, Butnaru appears again in a high-level mission, this time related to the war in Ukraine.
In June 2024, he was part of the delegation led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the High-Level Summit for Peace in Ukraine, held in Switzerland on June 15 and 16. The official communiqué identified him as a member of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations.
The Holy See participated in that meeting as an observer. In accordance with its diplomatic practice, it did not sign the final communiqué, although it expressed support for the summit’s conclusions. The delegation consisted of Parolin, then Apostolic Nuncio to Switzerland Msgr. Martin Krebs, and Butnaru.
His presence in this delegation helps complete the brief curriculum released this Thursday by the Vatican and demonstrates his experience not only in nunciatures but also in the field of multilateral relations of the Secretariat of State.
From the Secretariat of State to Strasbourg
In 2024, the diocese of Iași itself still listed Butnaru among the priests of the diocese serving in the Vatican Secretariat of State. He was later assigned to the pontifical representation in Canada, where he served as nunciature counselor until the appointment announced this Thursday.
Leo XIV now sends him to Strasbourg as permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe, a posting that continues a career developed between bilateral representations and the section of the Secretariat of State dedicated precisely to relations with states and international organizations.
According to the curriculum published by the Holy See, Butnaru speaks French, English, Italian, and Spanish. His new position places him as the pontifical representative to one of the international organizations of the European continent after more than a decade working in the diplomacy of the Holy See and participating in missions related to Belarus and Ukraine.