On Saturday, November 26, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Noel Trainor Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union, at the same time raising him to the dignity of Archbishop. Bishop Traynor of Down and Connor (Ireland), who succeeded the Italian Bishop Aldo Giordano, appointed in May 2021, died on 2 December 2021 of complications from Covid.

Noel Traynor was born on 25th December 1950 in Silverstream (Ireland) and was ordained a priest on 13th June 1976 in the Diocese of Clogher. On 31 March 1993, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Commission of the European Community (COMES), based in Brussels, a position he held until 2008. A pure European product, Bishop is fluent in English, French and German. , Italian and Spanish. Appointed Bishop of Down and Connor in February 2008, he was the Irish Bishops’ Representative to COMECE (2009-2022) and President of Justice and Peace-Europe (2018-2022).

Defender of the European Union

In 2016, he staunchly opposed Brexit. ” L“The European project is not a monstrous bureaucracy.”Bishop Traynor launched, but “A serious and noble attempt to carry out this ambition for a power of world government in the service of the common good of the human family, as John XXIII desired in the Encyclical. Pacem in TerrisIn 1963. »

The appointment was welcomed by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, president of Comus and a Jesuit. Archbishop Mgr Treanor of Luxembourg is considered a “The primary figure of the Church in the European Union. It has accompanied the process of European integration in an extraordinary way. Given his long experience at Comece, I am sure that our cooperation will be particularly strong and effective in promoting the common good in Europe. Cardinal Hollerich adds.