Thursday 30 April, 6.30pm
Monsignor Miguel Maury Buendía, Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, presents his book Faith Life Diplomacy. With Romania in the Heart (Rediviva Edizioni, with a preface by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State) in conversation with co-author Diana Turconi
Introduced by the ICI London Director Francesco Bongarrà and the Romanian Cultural Institute in London Director Aura Woodward
In Italian with simultaneous translation in English
Faith, Life, Diplomacy, based on an interview given to the writer Diana Turconi, offers an unprecedented perspective on the diplomacy of the Holy See, highlighting the rigorous formation of papal representatives and the relations maintained with states around the world in the name of peace and universal values. As the writer and diplomat Turconi emphasizes: “The volume also represents an important testimony on events of great relevance, which history has not yet fully clarified.”
The book traces the long international career of Monsignor Buendía, from missions in various countries to his service in Romania, where he served as Apostolic Nuncio from 2015 to 2023, playing a key role in preparing for Pope Francis’s visit in 2019. The volume is enriched with photographs documenting the most significant moments in the life of the Apostolic Nuncio.
Faith, Life, Diplomacy recounts the three fundamental dimensions of Monsignor Buendía’s biographical journey: faith, service, and diplomacy. Through these pages emerges a man of the Church and of dialogue, capable of uniting spiritual experience with service to others and the promotion of dialogue between different cultures and communities.
As Monsignor Buendía states: “Faith should not be taken for granted: it is a gift that not everyone receives, that can be lost if neglected, or rediscovered if we allow the heart to speak with the mind and live it together with other believers. It has an objective dimension, which we receive from the Church, and a more existential dimension, which consists in recognizing the presence and action of God in our life. It is living a relationship of loving trust, aware of the gap between Creator and creature. This faith, practiced day by day, gives light, peace, and security, transforming life into a passionate spiritual adventure.”
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H.E. Monsignor Miguel Maury Buendía was born in Madrid on 19th November 1955. Having obtained a Licentiate in Geography and History (1979) at the Autonomous University of Madrid, he finished the Theological Studies at the “Mayor Seminary” of Madrid and was ordained priest on June 26th 1980. On 1st July of the same year, he was appointed Vicar at the ‘Most Holy Trinity’ Parish in Collado-Villalba, where he remained until October 1984. Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology (1985) at the Pontifical University of Salamanca; Ph. Doctor in Canonic Law (1987) at the ‘Saint Thomas Pontifical University in Urbe’ (Angelicum), after two years of diplomatic studies at the ‘Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy’ in Rome, he joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1987. He served at the Apostolic Nunciatures, as Secretary, in Rwanda, Uganda, Morocco and Nicaragua (1987-1996), and, as Counsellor, in Egypt, Slovenia and Ireland (1996-2004). From September 1st 2004 to June 2008, he worked at the Vatican Secretariat of State, Section for Relation with the States, as a Desk Officer for the Balkan area. On May 19th 2008, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed him titular Archbishop of Italica and Apostolic Nuncio in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. On June 12 2008 he received the Episcopal consecration at the Basilica of ‘Santa Maria Maggiore’ in Rome. On December 15th 2015, Pope Francis appointed Msgr. Maury as Apostolic Nuncio to Romania and Republic of Moldova. He received the Holy Father Francis during His Apostolic Visit in Romania (31st May – 2nd June 2019). On 13th April 2023, His Holiness appointed him as Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. He has represented the Holy See in different International Conferences and Congresses.
Diana Turconi, diplomat, journalist, and writer, is the author of plays, prose, and historical-literary interviews, including I am the Target, a book of dialogues with the writer and academic Geo Bogza.