| Styles of Emil Paul Tscherrig | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Emil Paul Tscherrig (born 3 February 1947) is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who has spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1996 and has since held assignments as Apostolic Nuncio to several countries, most recently to Italy and San Marino.
Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 30 September 2023.
He was born in Unterems on 3 February 1947,[1] the eldest of eight children.[2] He was ordained a priest on 11 April 1974 for the Diocese of Sion.[1]
He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1978. In addition to overseas assignments, he also worked in Rome in the Secretariat of State from 1985 to 1996, assisting in preparations for Pope John Paul's international trips.[1][2]
On 4 May 1996, Pope John Paul II named him titular archbishop of Voli and appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi. He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Angelo Sodano on 27 June.[3]
On 8 July 2000, John Paul named him Delegate to the Antilles and Nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, and Bahamas.[4] On 20 January 2001, John Paul named him Nuncio to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and Suriname as well.[5] On 1 June 2001, he was made Nuncio to Saint Kitts and Nevis as well.[6]
On 22 May 2004 he was named Nuncio to Korea[7] and on 17 June Nuncio to Mongolia as well.[8]
On 26 January 2008 Pope Benedict XVI named him Nuncio to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway.[9]
On 5 January 2012 he was named Nuncio to Argentina.[10] On the night of his election to the papacy, Pope Francis called Tscherrig to ask him to inform the Argentine Catholic hierarchy and community that they could miss his investiture as Bishop of Rome and instead perform an act of charity with the money they would have spent.[11]
On 12 September 2017, Pope Francis named him Nuncio to Italy and San Marino.[12] He was the first non-Italian ever to hold the position of Apostolic Nuncio to Italy.[2]
On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced he plans to make him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September.[13] At that consistory he was made cardinal deacon of San Giuseppe al Trionfale.[14]
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