Fortunatus Nwachukwu

Who is Fortunatus Nwachukwu?

Fortunatus Nwachukwu is the apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua since his appointment was announced on 12 November 2012. He had previously served as Head of Protocol at the Secretariat of State.

Nwachukwu was born in Ntigha, Abia State, Nigeria in 1960. After discerning a vocation to the priesthood he studied theology and canon law in the seminary and was ordained a priest for the diocese of Aba on 17 June 1984. He was summoned to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy where he took courses in diplomacy in Rome. He formally entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1994, and was sent to work in a number of countries including Ghana and Paraguay. After this work he was called to the Second Section of the Secretariat of State in Rome.

He was appointed Chief of Protocol on 4 September 2007 He speaks a number of languages including English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, in addition to Arabic.

On 12 November 2012 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Titular Archbishop of Aquaviva and at the same time apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua. He was ordained a bishop on 6 January along with Georg Gänswein, Nicolas Thévenin and Angelo Vincenzo Zani.

On 14 November Pope Benedict appointed Mgr José Avelino Bettencourt, a native of Portugal who was ordained in Ottawa, Canada to succeed Nwachukwu as the chief of protocol.