Eugene Nugent

Who is Eugene Nugent?

Eugene Martin Nugent JCD is the Apostolic Nuncio to Madagascar and Apostolic Delegate to the Comoros and to Reunion since 13 February 2010. He had previously served with the rank of Counsellor of Nunciature.

Nugent was born in Gurtaderra Scariff County Clare, Ireland on 21 October 1958. He attended Clonusker National School and Scariff Community College. He studied for the priesthood in St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth where he received a B.A. in Celtic Studies from the NUI. He then went on to the Pontifical Irish College, Rome, taking his Baccalaureate in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained a priest on 9 July 1983 and incardinated in the diocese of Killaloe and completed a Licentiate in Canon Law after ordination. He was appointed as a curate in Ennis and ministered in the parish from 1984 to 1987. He was called to Rome where from 1988 until 1991, he worked in the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of the State. In 1992, he completed his doctorate in canon law at the Gregorian University. In the same year, he graduated from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1992. He then worked in the papal diplomatic missions in Turkey, Jerusalem and the Philippines. He speaks Irish, English, French, German and Italian. From 2001 until 2010 Msgr Nugent headed the Holy See Study Mission in Hong Kong, working with then-Archbishop Fernando Filoni. During this time he had responsibility for communications between the Chinese dioceses and the Vatican.