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Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of UK in Holy See

30th November 2014

A Scotsman in the Holy See

Msgr_Burns
The Rt Revd Canon Charles Burns meets Pope Benedict XVI (September 2011)

Guest blog by Monsignor Charles Burns OBE, Ecclesiastical Advisor of the British Embassy to the Holy See

There have been Scots here in Rome for many centuries. The Scottish Hospice was founded in 1475 to assist Scottish pilgrims, and the Pontifical Scots College – where the Feast of St Andrew is celebrated every year – was founded in 1600 to train Scotsmen for the priesthood in Scotland. The Stuart court was here in Rome, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother commissioned the new tomb in the Crypt of St Peter of the last of the royal Stuarts.

Although I have spent much of my life here in Rome, I still consider myself very much a Scotsman. I have never asked for anything in my life, like a soldier, my role has simply been to march, and I was sent here in October 1957 immediately after ordination to the priesthood to do one semester in the Faculty of Church History at the Gregorian University and have been here ever since. I completed my doctorate in Church History and was awarded a senior scholarship from the University of Glasgow to conduct a systematic search of sources of Scottish history in the Vatican Secret Archives. I was the first priest since the Reformation to be employed by a Scottish university.

This commission could have continued were it not for the fact that the Vatican Archives wanted an English speaker appointed to the staff, and from 1962 until 1997 I served in the Archives. At the same time, I taught the students of the Pontifical Diplomatic Academy the history of Papal Diplomacy, and for over a decade now I have been the Ecclesiastical Adviser to the British Embassy to the Holy See.

This has brought me into contact with Members of the Royal Family and other distinguished visitors. In my role as the Ecclesiastical Advisor (a unique role within the British Diplomatic Service), I provide advice on how the organization of the Holy See works with its 2000 years of history behind it. It has changed over the centuries to respond to different challenges, but much remains the same. Past experience always serves in the present, and precedent is important.

Three years ago Pope Benedict XVI named me a Canon of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, which brings with it an obligation to continue to live in Rome. Yet despite all my time here in Rome, I have not weakened my bonds with Scotland. I have remained a priest of the diocese of Paisley, and I am now an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral there. No bad thing to have a Scots voice at the heart of the Vatican!

About Nigel Baker

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as…

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba (2003-6) and then as British Ambassador in La Paz, Bolivia (2007-11). In July 2016, Nigel finished his posting, and is currently back in London.

As the first British Ambassador to the Holy See ever to have a blog, Nigel provided a regular window on what the Embassy and the Ambassador does. The blogs covered a wide range of issues, from Royal and Ministerial visits to Diplomacy and Faith, freedom of religion, human trafficking and climate change.

More on Nigel’s career

Nigel was based in London between 1998 and 2003. He spent two years on European Union issues (for the UK 1998 EU Presidency and on European Security and Defence questions), before crossing St James’s Park to work for three years as The Assistant Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At St James’s Palace, Nigel worked on international issues, including the management of The Prince of Wales’s overseas visits and tours, on the Commonwealth, interfaith issues, the arts and international development.

Nigel spent much of the early part of his FCO career in Central Europe, after an initial stint as Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries in the Near East and North Africa department (1990-91). Between 1992 and 1996, Nigel served in the British embassies in Prague and Bratislava, the latter being created in 1993 after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak Republics.

Nigel joined the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in September 1989. Between 1996 and 1998 he took a two year academic sabbatical to research and write about themes in 18th century European history, being based in Verona but also researching in Cambridge, Paris and Naples. The research followed from Nigel’s time as a student at Cambridge (1985-88) where he read history and was awarded a First Class Honours degree, followed by his MA in 1992.

Before joining the Foreign Office, Nigel worked briefly for the Conservative Research Department in London at the time of the 1989 European election campaign.

Nigel married Alexandra (Sasha) in 1997. They have one son, Benjamin, born in Bolivia in September 2008.

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charles burns ecclesiastical advisor monsignor burns Scotland scots college scottish st andrews vatican

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