This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Avatar photo

Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of UK in Holy See

26th February 2015

Spiritual retreats and daily business

Nigel Baker
Nigel Baker, British Ambassador to the Holy See

This week, the Pope and the senior members of the Roman Curia are away on spiritual retreat. There are not many governments that take all their senior members away from the fray of the day-to-day for a whole week of reflection, and even here the Blackberries and smart-phones may not be entirely switched off. But I think it is good practice. In this world dominated by a 24 hour news cycle, and constant pressures around the clock, decision-makers need occasionally to step away to recharge batteries, and consider the bigger picture.

I was asked the other day what embassies to the Holy See do when the “government” to which we are accredited is away. The answer is quite a lot. First of all, of course, there are many Holy See officials who remain at their posts. Just this week I have been talking to officials in the Secretary of State about a number of issues: the British chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and the Holy See’s relationship with that organisation; ways in which Britain and the Holy See can work together on the post-2015 international development negotiations ongoing at the UN; and collaboration on efforts against the death penalty. These were just three of the issues on our agenda.

As always, we have also been talking to the wider Holy See network. I had an opportunity to meet Archbishop Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops, about the terrible situation in his country. We have been in conversation with the English Catholic charity CAFOD about climate change, and how the Pope’s much anticipated encyclical on the environment will impact the UN climate change negotiations that culminate in December this year in Paris. Later this week, EU Ambassadors will meet the Secretary General of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community to learn more about how the European bishops engage with and influence the Brussels-based EU institutions. And I have had a chance to consider with a number of financial experts the Holy See’s internal reform of financial structures and management.

Not least, we have also been able to enjoy a little active reflection of our own. I have been able to work on a number of speeches I will give in the next month or so – including the Bishop Dunn Memorial Lecture at Durham on 4 March – and to plan embassy events that will take place later this year. We have also been able to spend time as an embassy team to consider our training and development needs for the next year, a vital task for any well functioning office.

The Holy See, with its ancient history, its spiritual retreats, its particular language, its dress, and unusual duality as administration and Church, can sometimes seem esoteric to an outsider. However, in essence, it functions like other organisations, and needs to be as grounded in the real world as any other government, albeit with that special, “universal” perspective which few others can replicate. It certainly keeps my own small embassy team busy. Even when the Pope is on retreat.

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.

Follow Nigel

Tags

"nigel baker" "uk ambassador blog" 2015 British government curia holocaust pope francis retreat spiritual retreat Ukraine

Links