On May 3, 2022, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, appointed His Excellency and Most Reverend Michael Wallace Banach, Titular Archbishop of Memphis, as the Apostolic Nuncio of Hungary.
His Excellency Mons. Michael Wallace Banach, titular Archbishop of Memphis, was born on November 19, 1962 in Worcester (Massachusetts, USA). On July 2, 1988, he was ordained a priest to serve the Diocese of Worcester. He obtained his doctorate in canon law in 1994 and, after graduating from the Vatican Diplomatic Academy, entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See.
From 1994 to 2007, he worked at the papal missions of Bolivia and then Nigeria, as well as at the State Secretariat of the Holy See in the Interstate Relations Section. Between 2007 and 2013, he was a permanent observer of the Holy See at the United Nations Office in Vienna and at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). At the same time, he is the representative of the Holy See at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).
On February 22, 2013, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Memphis and Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea, and on May 18, 2013, he was also appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Solomon Islands.
On March 19, 2016, he was appointed apostolic nuncio to Senegal and apostolic delegate to Mauritania. On July 9, 2016, he was also appointed apostolic nuncio of the Republic of Cape Verde. On August 22, 2016, he was appointed apostolic nuncio to Guinea-Bissau. On May 13, 2017, he was appointed apostolic nuncio to Mauritania.
In addition to his mother tongue (English), he speaks Italian, French, Polish and Spanish.
Source: Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference
(Cover photo: Magyar Kurir )
