Pope Leo appoints Nigerian priest assessor for general affairs of the Secretariat of State
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Father Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 19, 2025 / 14:53 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appointed Nigerian priest Father Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo as assessor for general affairs of the Vatican Secretariat of State.Ekpo, 44, succeeds Father Roberto Campisi, who was appointed permanent observer of the Holy See to UNESCO in September. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the activities of Catholic international organizations connected to the Vatican.The Nigeria-born priest first began his service with the Holy See in 2016. He worked with the Vatican's Section for General Affairs for six years between 2016 and 2023.In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to assist the work of its prefect Cardinal Michael Czerny. Epko thanked his colleagues at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development "for their friendship and shared work over these years" and pr...
Father Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Nov 19, 2025 / 14:53 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appointed Nigerian priest Father Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo as assessor for general affairs of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Ekpo, 44, succeeds Father Roberto Campisi, who was appointed permanent observer of the Holy See to UNESCO in September. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the activities of Catholic international organizations connected to the Vatican.
The Nigeria-born priest first began his service with the Holy See in 2016. He worked with the Vatican's Section for General Affairs for six years between 2016 and 2023.
In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to assist the work of its prefect Cardinal Michael Czerny.
Epko thanked his colleagues at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development "for their friendship and shared work over these years" and prayed for ??the grace to carry out his new role with the Secretariat of State with "joy, passion, and dedication," Vatican News reported on Wednesday.
"My desire is to be able to collaborate with the superiors and employees of the dicastery, to advance the vision of the dicastery and the mission of the Church," Ekpo told Vatican News.
Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Umuahia, Nigeria, in 2011, Epko continued his theological training abroad.
In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in systematic theology from the Australian Catholic University as well as a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2021.
He is fluent in English, Italian, French, and the Nigerian language Igbo.
Earlier this month, Pope Leo appointed Nigerian priest Father Edward Daniang Daleng as vice regent of the Papal Household, the second-highest position in the Vatican office that organizes audiences with the pope.
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Credit: Digital Storm/ShutterstockJan 15, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).The attorney general of Ohio is moving to shut down a nursing home after a congregation of Catholic nuns sold it, amid reports that the facility's "shockingly poor care" is placing elderly residents in "clear and present danger."House of Loreto, a nursing facility formerly run by the sisters of the Congregation of the Divine Spirit, has allegedly committed "widespread care failures," Attorney General Dave Yost's office said in a Jan. 13 press release. The sisters were involved with the home from 1957, when then-Youngstown Bishop Emmet Walsh asked for the religious to run the facility. The current facility opened in 1963. The Youngstown Diocese said in March 2025 that the home had been acquired by Hari Group LLC, a company based out of Ohio. In its press release announcing the sale the diocese did not note any troubles experienced by House of Loreto at the time. A diocesan spokesman said on Jan. 15 that the ...
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Credit: Digital Storm/ShutterstockJan 15, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).The attorney general of Ohio is moving to shut down a Catholic-run nursing home amid reports that the facility is placing elderly residents in "clear and present danger."House of Loreto, a nursing facility run by the sisters of the Congregation of the Divine Spirit, has allegedly committed "widespread care failures," Attorney General Dave Yost's office said in a Jan. 13 press release. The sisters have been involved with the home since 1957, when then-Youngstown Bishop Emmet Walsh asked for the religious to run the facility. The current facility opened in 1963. The Youngstown Diocese said in March 2025 that the home had been acquired by Hari Group LLC, a company based out of Ohio. In its press release announcing the sale the diocese did not note any troubles experienced by House of Loreto at the time.In a court order request filed on Jan. 12, Yost's office said that state inspectors have observed a "rapi...
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Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. | Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.Jan 14, 2026 / 20:49 pm (CNA).The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called for finding peaceful solutions to the events unfolding in Iran, where he sees the population's yearning to live in "peace, justice, and dignity."On Dec. 28, 2025, protests erupted in the capital, Tehran, as Iranians demonstrated against rising prices of basic goods such as chicken and cooking oil, due to inflation. In the following days, the demonstrations spread to more than 180 cities.These protests are considered the most severer the Islamic Republic has faced since it came to power in 1979. However, authorities have responded with a crackdown that has resulted in more than 2,500 deaths, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).Speaking to Vatican News, Cardinal Pizzaballa said that he sees in Iran "the yearning of the entire Iranian population, but als...
