BY SUNNY DAVID/AWKA
POPE Leo XIV has appointed Rev. Fther Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo, as the new assessor for general affairs at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. The appointment was announced yesterday.
Ekpo, 44, succeeds Father Roberto Campisi, who in September became the Holy See’s permanent observer to UNESCO. In his new role, Ekpo will oversee the activities of Catholic international organizations linked to the Vatican.
The Umuahia-born priest began serving in the Holy See in 2016 and worked in the Section for General Affairs for six years. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, where he assisted Cardinal Michael Czerny.
In a message shared by Vatican News, Ekpo expressed gratitude to his colleagues at the dicastery for their “friendship and shared work,” and prayed for the grace to carry out his new responsibilities “with joy, passion and dedication.” He added that he looks forward to collaborating with his new team to advance the mission of the Church. Ordained in 2011 for the Diocese of Umuahia, Ekpo continued his studies abroad, earning a doctorate in systematic theology from Australian Catholic University in 2013 and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 2021. He speaks English, Italian, French, and Igbo.
Earlier this month, the pope appointed another Nigerian priest, Rev. Father Edward Daniang Daleng, as vice regent of the Papal Household, the second highest office responsible for organizing papal audiences.
