Cork-born archbishop appointed Papal Nuncio to Nigeria

Pope Francis has appointed a Cork-born priest to the position of Vatican ambassador to Africa’s most populous country.

Archbishop Michael Crotty, who was born in Mallow and grew up in Mitchelstown, has been appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria.

A former hurler with Ballygiblin, he was ordained a priest of the diocese of Cloyne in 1994.

He went on to further studies in the Pontifical Irish College and the Pontifical University in Rome, and entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1997, in preparation for a diplomatic career for the Holy See.

In 2020, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Lindisfarne and Apostolic Nuncio to Burkina Faso by Pope Francis, and he was also nuncio to Niger.

Ordained

He was ordained bishop that year in St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh.

Archbishop Crotty’s appointment to the position of nuncio to Nigeria was welcomed by Bishop William Crean, bishop of Cloyne.

“Archbishop Crotty has been dealing with the challenging situation in Burkina Faso and Niger for the past few years,” a spokesperson for the diocese said.

“His appointment to the position of Papal Nuncio to Nigeria is a wonderful vote of confidence in his ministry by the Holy See.

“We congratulate him on this new appointment and pray God’s blessing and strength on him for the task that lies ahead.”

Home to approximately 29 million Catholics, Nigeria has Africa’s second-largest Catholic population, after the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has more than 52 million Catholics.