BREAKING RIP Archbishop Bonazzi - Former Papal Nuncio to Canada Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi Dies - Vatican Diplomat who Met with Fidel Castro
Ordained a priest since 1973, trained in the diocese of Bergamo and then at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Bonazzi's name is linked to one of the most extensive careers in the Holy See's diplomacy. Haiti, Cuba, the Baltic countries, Canada, and finally Albania were the main fronts of his ministry, always conducted with discretion, firmness, and a humane spirit recognized by all who met him. A man of listening and balance, he was known for his ability to cultivate relationships even in complex contexts, offering the Church and local communities a presence of dialogue.
Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, Titular Archbishop of Atella, former Apostolic Nuncio to Albania, Canada, having previously served in Haiti, Cuba, and Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. He had numerous opportunities to meet Fidel Castro, who visited him at the Nunciature on April 4, 2005, to express, through him, his condolences to the entire Catholic Church for the death of John Paul II, whom Fidel had welcomed to Cuba in 1998. In Havana, Archbishop Bonazzi received Cardinal Bertone twice, first as Archbishop of Genoa in 2005, and then as Secretary of State. During those meetings, they gathered important insights into the friendship that bound Fidel to Karol Wojtyla and then to Benedict XVI.
Monsignor Luigi Bonazzi was born in Gandino on June 19, 1948. He was ordained a priest on June 30, 1973, and holds a licentiate in Sacred Theology and degrees in Psychology and Educational Sciences. In 1977, he began his studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where diplomats of the Holy See are trained.
(VIDEO of Archbishop Bonazzi at the Nunciature in Ottawa in 2019)
Upon completion of his studies, he was sent as an attaché to the apostolic nunciature to Cameroon (1980-83), Trinidad (1983-86), and Malta (1986-89). He was then appointed auditor at the apostolic nunciature to Spain (1991-94), counselor to the apostolic nunciature to the United States (1994-96), to Italy (1996-99), and finally to Canada, where he returned as Apostolic Nuncio in 2014.
On June 19, 1999, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Atella and apostolic nuncio to Haiti, receiving episcopal consecration in Bergamo Cathedral on August 26 during a Eucharistic concelebration presided over by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then Vatican Secretary of State. On March 30, 2004, he was chosen as the new apostolic nuncio to Cuba, from where in 2009 he was transferred to the Baltic States, then to Canada, and finally to Albania, an absolutely exceptional career.
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