Pablo Puente (prelate)

Pablo Puente Buces (16 June 1931 – 4 December 2022) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church, who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1962 to 2004. He became an archbishop in 1980 and held the title of Apostolic Nuncio to several countries. Diario Sur called him "a heavyweight of Vatican diplomacy".[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Puente and the second or maternal family name is Buces.
His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Pablo Puente Buces
Apostolic Nuncio emeritus of Great Britain
Titular Archbishop of Macri
Appointed31 July 1997
Term ended23 October 2004
PredecessorLuigi Barbarito
SuccessorFaustino Sainz Muñoz
Other post(s)Titular Archbishop of Macri
Orders
Ordination2 April 1956
by José María Eguino y Trecu
Consecration25 May 1980
by Agnelo Rossi, Gabino Díaz Merchán, and Juan Antonio del Val Gallo
Personal details
Born(1931-06-16)16 June 1931
Colindres, Cantabria, Spain
Died4 December 2022(2022-12-04) (aged 91)
NationalitySpanish
Previous post(s)
Styles of
Pablo Puente Buces
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop

Biography

Pablo Puente was born in Colindres, Cantabria, Spain, on 16 June 1931. He earned his licentiates in philosophy in 1952 and in theology in 1956 at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid. He was ordained a priest on 2 April 1956. He then attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and obtained a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.[2]

Puente entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1962. His first assignments were in Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Kenya and Tanzania.[2] In 1970 he was named Chief of the Spanish Language Section of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.

Beginning in 1973 he worked in Lebanon and Yugoslavia.[2] He was a member of the Holy See's delegation to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Helsinki and in 1978 he headed the Vatican Delegation at the Minespol-II Conference of Unesco.

On 18 March 1980, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular archbishop of Macri and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Indonesia.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on 25 May from Cardinal Agnelo Rossi.[2]

On 15 March 1986, he was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Senegal and to Cape Verde as well as Apostolic Delegate to Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania.[4] On 12 May he was given additional responsibility as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Mali.[5]

On 31 July 1989, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon.[6] His service in Lebanon, where he reached out to various militia groups and heads of Islamic political parties to help end the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, has been cited as an example of invisible Vatican diplomacy.[7][8]

On 25 May 1993, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait and Apostolic Delegate to the Arabian Peninsula.[9]

On 31 July 1997 he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. [10] In 2001 he visited the Archdiocese of Cardiff to meet with religious and laity following the temporary replacement of the archbishop and the removal of two priests for the sexual abuse of minors.[11]

Puente resigned as nuncio in October 2004,[12] and on 11 December 2004, John Paul II accepted his resignation.[13]

On 25 August 2019, Puente called for the ordination of women as Catholic priests.[14]

Puente was a canon of the cathedral of Santander.[15]

Puente died on 4 December 2022, at the age of 91.[16]

See also

References
  1. Urrutia, Isabel (21 August 2009). "Un diplomático curtido en el Islam, nuevo nuncio del Papa en Españai". Diario Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. Cerro, Mario (1 April 2006). "El arzobispo Pablo Puente celebra mañana sus bodas de oro sacerdotales". El Diario Montañés (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  3. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXII. 1980. p. 373. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  4. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXVIII. 1986. pp. 394, 465. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  5. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXVIII. 1986. p. 590. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  6. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXI. 1989. p. 1079. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  7. Pantin, Edward (1 March 2010). "Vatican Diplomacy". Diplomat Magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  8. "New Vatican ambassador to Lebanon aims to encourage dialogue". UPI. 8 January 1990. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  9. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXV. 1993. p. 547. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  10. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXXIX. 1997. p. 671. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  11. O'Neill, Sean. "Paedophile scandal diocese gets Papal envoy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  12. "Papal Nuncio Appointed for Great Britain". Zenit. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  13. "Rinunce e Nomine, 11.12.2004" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 11 December 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  14. "Former Vatican ambassador to UK calls for women to be ordained priests". Crux. 25 August 2019. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  15. Serrano Oceja, Francisco (11 March 2019). "Los nuncios españoles". Religión Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  16. Fallece Pablo Puente Buces, Nuncio Apostólico del Papa y Arzobispo de Macri (in Spanish)

Further reading
  • Dagher, Carole H. (2000). "A Synod for Lebanon" and "John Paul II in Lebanon". Bring Down the Walls. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.


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