Pope Leo XIV has appointed Msgr Anthony Ekpo, who formerly served in the Brisbane Archdiocese, as assessor for general affairs of the Secretariat of State. Source: The Catholic Leader.
The Nigerian-born Msgr Ekpo, 44, succeeds Fr Roberto Campisi, who was appointed permanent observer of the Holy See to UNESCO in September.
Msgr Ekpo was undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, previously served in Brisbane Archdiocese, including as Archbishop Emertius Mark Coleridge’s master of ceremonies and pastoral assistant, before his appointments in Rome.
Msgr Ekpo, who arrived in Brisbane from Nigeria in 2007, left for Rome in 2015.
In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the activities of Catholic international organisations connected to the Holy See.
Msgr Ekpo first began his service with the Holy See in 2016. He worked with the Holy See’s Section for General Affairs for six years between 2016 and 2023.
In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to assist the work of its prefect, Cardinal Michael Czerny.
Msgr Ekpo thanked his colleagues at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development “for their friendship and shared work over these years” and prayed for the grace to carry out his new role with the Secretariat of State with “joy, passion, and dedication,” Vatican News reported on Wednesday.
“My desire is to be able to collaborate with the superiors and employees of the dicastery, to advance the vision of the dicastery and the mission of the Church,” he said.
Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Umuahia, Nigeria, in 2011, Msgr Ekpo continued his theological training abroad.
In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in systematic theology from the Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, as well as a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2021.
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Pope Leo appoints former Brisbane priest Monsignor Anthony Ekpo to key role in Secretariat of State (The Catholic Leader and CNA)
