Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Mgr Aldo Cavalli as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Malta, replacing Mgr Tommaso Caputo.

The announcement was made yesterday by the Maltese bishops who welcomed Mgr Cavalli into his new role, which he will take over in April.

Malta’s Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna thanked the Pope for the “gift” and said he had met Mgr Cavalli in Columbia, where he was Apostolic Nuncio.

“He was a good man with great experience and love for the Church. We salute him as the new Nuncio… we have a person who will give a great service to the communion between Malta and Gozo and the Holy See,” he said.

Born in Maggianico di Lecco in Italy in 1946, Mgr Cavalli will replace Mgr Caputo who was nominated by the Vatican as Archbishop-Prelate of Pompei and Pontifical Delegate to the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary in November.

Mgr Cavalli received his priestly formation in the Diocesan Seminary of Bergamo and, after his ordination, graduated in political science.

He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1979, serving in the Apostolic Nunciature in Burundi and later in the Secretariat of State, in the Vatican. In 1996, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Vibo Valentia and Apostolic Delegate to Angola and Apostolic Nuncio to São Tomé and Príncipe and received his episcopal ordination in the Cathedral of Bergamo.

In 1997, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Angola and four years later, Apostolic Nuncio to Chile. In 2007, he became Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia.

As the Apostolic Nuncio to Malta, Mgr Cavalli will represent the Pope and the Holy See with the churches of Malta and Gozo and the civil authorities. He will also be the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Malta. It is the duty of the papal representative to strengthen the bonds of communion that unite the Apostolic See and the churches.