Two papal appointments for Ireland: mgr. Noël Treanor, Irish, has been appointed bishop of Down and Connor, while mgr. Giuseppe Leanza, Italian, has been appointed apostolic nuncio to Ireland. The news was relayed by today’s paper L’Osservatore Romano. Mgr. Treanor was born in Silverstream, in the diocese of Clogher, on 25th December 1950. Ordained priest on 13th June 1976, after studying at the Gregorian University and holding several pastoral positions in Ireland, in 1989 he was appointed officer of Comece (Commission of the European Bishops Conferences) in Brussels, of which he then became the secretary general; his four-year term has been renewed for the fourth time. On 18th May 1994, he was appointed chaplain of His Holiness. Mgr. Leanza was born in Cesarò, in the diocese of Patti, on 2nd January 1943, and was ordained priest on 17th July 1966. After joining the diplomatic corps of the Holy See in 1972, he worked at the papal diplomatic offices in Paraguay, Uganda and the USA. Since 1984 he has worked at the section for relations with the states of the Secretariat of State. In 1990, he was appointed bishop and over the years he has been apostolic nuncio to Haiti, pro-apostolic nuncio to Zambia and Malawi, apostolic nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and FYROM. Since 22nd February 2003, he had been apostolic nuncio to Bulgaria.
