Pope names Lebanese prelate to crucial diplomatic post
July 25, 2026
Pope Leo XIV today named Archbishop Christophe Zakhia El-Kassis as the new Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York.
The crucial diplomatic post was previously held by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, who was appointed apostolic nuncio to the United States in March.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1968, Archbishop El-Kassis was ordained a priest of the Maronite Archeparchy of Beirut in 1994. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2000 and served in nunciatures in Indonesia, Sudan, and Turkey. He then worked in the Section for Relations with States of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State and in Pakistan, as nunciature counsellor.
In 2018, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic nuncio to Pakistan. Five years later, the Pontiff transferred him to the United Arab Emirates. In 2024, while remaining apostolic nuncio to the United Arab Emirates, he was given the simultaneous appointments of apostolic nuncio to Yemen and apostolic delegate to the Arabian Peninsula.
Educated in civil and canon law, Archbishop El-Kassis knows Arabic, French, Italian, English, Indonesian, Spanish, and German.
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