Pope Leo appoints new Sostituto and new Prefect of the Papal Household

March 30, 2026

Pope Leo XIV today named Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, the apostolic nuncio to Colombia, as the new Sostituto. The Pontiff also named Archbishop Petar Rajič, the apostolic nuncio to Italy and San Marino, as the new Prefect of the Papal Household, and in doing so filled a position that has been vacant for three years.

Archbishop Rudelli succeeds Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Venezuelan prelate who has been Sostituto since 2018. Pope Leo appointed Archbishop Peña Parra to fill Archbishop Rajič’s post as nuncio to Italy and San Marino.

As the Sostituto (officially, the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State), Archbishop Rudelli now coordinates the internal affairs of the Roman Curia. He reports to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness. The Sostituto is assisted by an assessor: Msgr. Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo, appointed to the position by Pope Leo last November. Praedicate Evangelium, the 2022 apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, outlines the substantial responsibilities under the purview of Archbishop Rudelli’s section (Articles 46-48).

Archbishop Rudelli, who knows English, French, Spanish, and Polish, as well as his native Italian, was born in 1970 and ordained a priest of the Diocese of Bergamo, Italy, in 1995. He earned degrees in canon law and moral theology.

Archbishop Rudelli entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2001 and served in nunciatures in Ecuador and Poland, as well as in the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. In 2014, he was named Permanent Observer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

Pope Francis ordained Rudelli a bishop in 2019 and appointed him an apostolic nuncio. Pope Francis named Archbishop Rudelli apostolic nuncio to Zimbabwe in 2020 and apostolic nuncio to Colombia in 2023.

Archbishop Rajič, 66, the new Prefect of the Papal Household, is a veteran Vatican diplomat. He succeeds Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the prefect from 2012 to 2023.

Raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Archbishop Rajič was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1987. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him apostolic nuncio to Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar in 2009, and also appointed him apostolic nuncio to the United Arab Emirates and Yemen in 2010.

In 2015, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic nuncio to Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe; in 2019, apostolic nuncio to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; and in 2024, apostolic nuncio to Italy and San Marino.

As Prefect of the Papal Household—a position that now holds a five-year term—Archbishop Rajič is responsible for the coordination of papal audiences. Other matters under the purview of the Prefecture of the Papal Household are outlined in Praedicate Evangelium (Articles 228-230).

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Resignations and Appointments, 30.03.2026 (Holy See Press Office, 3/30/26)