Ettore Balestrero

Who is Ettore Balestrero?

Ettore Balestrero is the current apostolic nuncio to Colombia since his appointed was announced on 22 February 2013. He had previously served as Undersecretary for Relations with States, the deputy to Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

Monsignor Balestrero will take his position as under-secretary in the section for relations with states. The Genoa-born monsignor was already serving as an advisor in that department.

After attending law school, he entered the Almo Collegio Capranica and was ordained a priest on 18 September 1993 for the diocese of Rome by Cardinal Camillo Ruini. He earned a degree in theology and a doctorate in Canon Law. After serving in the Parish of Santa Maria Mater Ecclesiae al Torrino in Rome, he became a student at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

He entered the Holy See's diplomatic service in 1996, serving in Korea, Mongolia and the Netherlands. Since 2001 he has served in the Secretariat of State. He was appointed as Undersecretary for Relations with States replacing Pietro Parolin who was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela on the same day.

Msgr. Balestrero’s task will be to oversee the work of the office of Relations with States and maintain contacts with ambassadors around the world. Msgr. Balestrero has an American mother and speaks fluent English as well as French, Spanish, German and Dutch.