Apostolic Nuncio Tommaso Caputo bid farewell to Malta during a thanksgiving Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral yesterday.

The Mass, also celebrated by Archbishop Paul Cremona, brought to an end Mgr Caputo’s diplomatic mission after five years of service in Malta and Libya.

Pope Benedict XVI has now appointed Mgr Caputo Archbishop of Pompei and pontifical delegate for the shrine of the blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompei.

In his new role, the 62-year-old Neapolitan will be responsible for the pastoral life of the archdiocese and the devotional and charitable activities associated with the shrine.

He was ordained priest in 1974 and after some years of pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Naples he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, working in the Apostolic Nunciature in Rwanda, the Philippines and Venezuela.

From 1989, he worked in the Secretariat of State and, in 1993, Pope John Paul II appointed him Chief of Protocol.