Pope Francis has nominated Fr Maximillian Grech of Victoria as a diplomatic attaché of the Vatican and assigned him to serve at the apostolic nuncio in Tehran, Iran, with effect from August. For the past three years, Fr Grech has attended the Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, the Holy See institution that trains priests chosen to serve in the 180 apostolic nuncios around the world. In June, he was awarded a doctorate in fundamental theology by the Pontificia Università Gregoriana.