(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States, and announced Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia as his successor.
Caccia has been the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York since 2019.
Cardinal Pierre, who turned 80 years old earlier this year, was appointed as the Vatican’s representative to the U.S. by Pope Francis in 2016.
Pierre was Pope Francis’ surrogate in the U.S., acting as hatchet man in the removal of Bishop Joseph Strickland from his post as bishop of Tyler, Texas, reportedly claimed that “There is no deposit of faith,” and accused U.S. bishops of undermining Pope Francis’ agenda while insisting that “The pastoral thrust of [the Francis] pontificate must reach the American people.”
In stark contrast to his closeness with the secular press, Pierre was known to be hostile to conservative Catholic journalists, including LifeSiteNews.
Pierre was equally close with the self-identifying Catholic President Joe Biden and his pro-abortion, pro-LGBT administration. In a move that horrified many faithful Catholics, Pierre delivered an invocation and led grace at a White House Saint Patrick’s Day brunch hosting homosexual Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and left-wing pro-LGBT Jesuit Frs. James Martin and Thomas Reese.
Accepting his new appointment, Archbishop Caccia said he is “Honored and deeply humbled by the decision of the Holy Father to appoint me as apostolic nuncio to the country and the Church where he himself was born and raised, I receive this mission with both joy and a sense of trepidation, conscious of the great trust placed in me and of my own limitations, yet confident in His Holiness’s prayerful support and guidance.”
“Upon all I invoke the blessings of Almighty God, especially in this year that marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States of America.”
In June 2025, shortly after the start of the Leo XIV pontificate, Caccia issued a statement highlighting the United Nation’s inconsistent implementation of health and well-being programs, particularly those aimed at protecting the unborn.
“Achieving health and wellbeing for all also calls for special attention to be paid to the most vulnerable members of the human family, including the unborn, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrants and those living in conflict-affected areas,” stated Caccia. “This is a right for all, not a privilege for the few, rooted in the fundamental truth that every human life is sacred and worthy of care from conception to natural death.”
On behalf of Pope Leo in July 2025, Caccia urged a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine at the UN.
Caccia was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Milan by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini in June 1983 and served at the parish of San Giovanni Bosco in Milan until 1986.
He then studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in theology and a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
According to his curriculum vitae: In July 1991, he joined the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See and was at first posted at the apostolic nunciature in Tanzania, and, in 1993, was appointed to serve the secretary of the substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. In 2002, he was promoted as assessor for general affairs of the Secretariat of State.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Caccia as apostolic nuncio to Lebanon and archbishop-titular bishop of Sepino in July 2009, later ordaining Caccia at Saint Peter’s Basilica.
In 2017, Caccia was made apostolic nuncio to the Philippines and, in 2019, was named permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York.
