Abu Dhabi - Pope Francis has appointed His Excellency Msgr. Christophe Zakia El-Kassis, Titular Archbishop of Roselle, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the United Arab Emirates.

The announcement was made today at 12 noon Rome time.

Bishop Paolo Martinelli OFM Cap, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, commiuncated the news of the announcement to the faithful in AVOSA.

Archbishop Christophe Zakia El-Kassis will be the first nuncio who will be resident in the UAE, in the Nunciature in Abu Dhabi which was opened in February 2022.

His Excellency Msgr. Christophe Zakia El-Kassis, is born in Beirut, Lebanon, on 24 August 1968. Ordained priest on 21 May 1994.

Archbishop El-Kassis holds a doctorate in both Civil and Canon Law. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2000 and in the following years until 2019, he was designated to the diplomatic service of the Apostolic Nunciatures to Indonesia, Sudan, Turkey, and to the section for relations with the States of the secretariat of State of the Holy See. He was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan on 24 November 2019.

Archbishop El-Kassis speaks Arabic, English, Italian, French, Indonesian, German and Spanish.
-Avosa