The Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia to the Holy See. The first nominee for this position was Dudley McCarthy, appointed in 1973,[1][2] who was also the ambassador to Spain, but the Vatican refused to accept the nomination on the grounds that McCarthy had been divorced.[3] The appointment was subsequently attached to the office of the Ambassador to the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and Switzerland. In 2008 Tim Fischer was appointed as the first permanent resident ambassador to the Holy See.[1] In 1986, Sir Peter Lawler had been appointed resident ambassador for four months prior to Pope John Paul II's visit to Australia.[4] Keith Pitt is the current ambassador, having presented his credentials on 3 June 2025.[5]
List of heads of mission
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Title | Residency | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lloyd Thomson LVO | Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See | The Hague, Netherlands | 1973 (1973) | 1974 (1974) | 0–1 years | [6] |
| 2 | John McMillan | Turkey | 1974 (1974) | 1978 (1978) | 3–4 years | [7] | |
| (n/a) | John Mitchell Kirtley | Chargé d'affaires | 1978 (1978) | 1979 (1979) | 0–1 years | ||
| 3 | Brian Clarence Hill | Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See | Sweden | 1979 (1979) | 1980 (1980) | 0–1 years | |
| (1) | Lloyd Thomson | Dublin, Ireland[8] | 1980 (1980) | 1983 (1983) | 2–3 years | [9] | |
| 4 | Sir Peter Lawler OBE | 1983 (1983) | 1986 (1986) | 2–3 years | [4] | ||
| (n/a) | Christopher Stephen Knott | Chargé d'affaires | 1986 (1986) | 1987 (1987) | 0–1 years | ||
| 5 | Frank Milne | Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See | 1987 (1987) | 1988 (1988) | 0–1 years | [10] | |
| 6 | Brian Burke AO[11] | Dublin, Ireland | 5 June 1988 (1988-06-05) | 31 July 1991 (1991-07-31) | 3 years, 56 days | [12] | |
| 7 | Terence McCarthy | 1991 (1991) | 1993 (1993) | 1–2 years | [13] | ||
| 8 | Michael Tate | The Hague, Netherlands | 1993 (1993) | 1996 (1996) | 2–3 years | ||
| 9 | Edward Stevens | Dublin, Ireland | 1996 (1996) | 1998 (1998) | 1–2 years | [14] | |
| 10 | Bob Halverson OBE | 1998 (1998) | 2003 (2003) | 4–5 years | |||
| 11 | John Herron | 2003 (2003) | 2006 (2006) | 2–3 years | |||
| 12 | Anne Plunkett | 2006 (2006) | 2008 (2008) | 1–2 years | |||
| 13 | Tim Fischer AC | Vatican City | 2008 (2008) | 2012 (2012) | 3–4 years | [1] | |
| 14 | John McCarthy , QC | August 2012 (2012-08) | 29 January 2016 (2016-01-29) | 3 years, 5 months | [1][15] | ||
| 15 | Melissa Hitchman | 2016 (2016) | 2020 (2020) | 3–4 years | [16][17] | ||
| 16 | Chiara Porro | 27 August 2020 (2020-08-27) | 29 November 2024 (2024-11-29) | 4 years, 94 days | [18][19][20] | ||
| (n/a) | Marcus Wu | Chargé d'affaires | 29 November 2024 (2024-11-29) | 3 June 2025 (2025-06-03) | 186 days | ||
| 17 | Keith Pitt | Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See | 3 June 2025 (2025-06-03) | incumbent | 1 year, 94 days | [21] |
References
- 1.[1.2][1.3][1.4]Maiden, Samantha (22 July 2008). "Kevin Rudd parts the Holy See with Tim Fischer". The Australian. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- 2.CA 8039: Australian Embassy to the Holy See, Italy [Rome], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 11 January 2016
- 3."Proposed envoy not accepted". The Canberra Times. 15 May 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 2 September 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- 4.[4.2]Oakes, Laurie (21 July 2008). "Rudd overcome with generous spirit". Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- 5."Australian Ambassador to the Holy See presents credentials to Pope Leo XIV". The Record. Perth: Archdiocese of Perth. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- 6."Envoy to Holy See appointed". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 July 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- 7.Overington, Caroline (22 July 2008). "Politics of the pulpit". The Australian. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- 8.Lawler was resident ambassador in the Vatican City for four months prior to Pope John Paul II's visit to Australia.
- 9.Address of John Paul II to Lloyd Thomson, Ambassador of Australia accredited to the Holy See
- 10.Address of the Holy Father John Paul II to H.E. Mr Francis Sommerville Milne, Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See
- 11.In April 1991, it was announced that Burke had resigned from his post with effect from July 1991 in order to face a royal commission and was eventually jailed. Burke was asked to hand back his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia.
- 12.Ramsey, Alan (20 July 2005). "A role in the fall of a Labor mate conveniently omitted from the eulogies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- 13.Address of His Holiness John Paul II to H.E. Mr Terence Barry McCarthy, the new Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See
- 14.Downer, Alexander (29 August 1998). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador To Ireland" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- 15.Wallace, Rick (18 January 2016). "DFAT scrambles to bring home Holy See diplomat". The Australian. News Corp Australia.
- 16.Bishop, Julie (5 May 2016). "Ambassador to the Holy See" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016.
- 17.McCowen, Sharyn (10 May 2016). "Career diplomat to succeed John McCarthy as Australian ambassador to Holy See". The Catholic Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016.
- 18.Payne, Marise (4 September 2020). "Ambassador to Holy See". Minister for Foreign Affairs (Press release). Australian Government. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- 19.Bowling, Mark (28 August 2020). "Meet the new Australian ambassador to the Holy See, Chiara Porro". The Catholic Leader.
- 20."New Australian Ambassador to the Holy See appointed". Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- 21."Former MP Keith Pitt selected as Australia's new Ambassador to the…". Melbourne Catholic. Retrieved 10 June 2025.