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Sally Axworthy

Ambassador to the Holy See

Part of UK in Holy See

19th September 2016 Holy See

Starting at the Holy See

May I introduce myself? I am Sally Axworthy, the new British Ambassador to the Holy See. I presented my credentials to Pope Francis on 19 September. Over the coming four years, I hope to blog regularly to give an insight into the work of this Embassy

I come to Rome having just spent six months learning Italian (one of the working languages of the Vatican), including in the beautiful city of Siena. From Siena I was able to walk parts of the Via Francigena, the pilgrim route linking Canterbury and Rome, whose stages are those noted down at the end of the tenth century by Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury. The route is a symbol of the ancient ties between the UK and the Holy See.  

This Embassy is an unusual one. I am accredited not to a state, but to a non-territorial institution which represents the authority of the papacy over the Catholic Church. The central institutions of the Holy See are tiny. Its territory, the Vatican City State, covers an area about one third that of Hyde Park. But the Holy See’s reach is vast, with 1.28 billion Catholics worldwide. Pope Francis’s message, as I found out as I prepared for this job, has struck chords with people, believers and non-believers, from deepest Cornwall (where I live when in the UK) to historic Siena.

My career so far has been spent in more traditional embassies: in Russia as the Soviet Union collapsed; in Ukraine when the UK established a new embassy to the newly-independent state; in Germany at a time of intense debate about our role in the EU (sound familiar?); and most recently in India. I spent some years working on services for vulnerable adults in the south west of England. And recently I have contributed to international efforts to end the conflicts in Somalia and Libya. The nice thing about this job is that I suspect I will use the whole range of that experience.  

So what will my job involve?  I see my role as working in the space where the Pope’s objectives overlap with the UK’s. There are many such areas. We have well-established cooperation on combating modern slavery through the Santa Marta Group. Baroness Anelay made a successful visit to Rome in May to talk to religious communities about working together to prevent sexual violence in conflict. We have shared objectives on climate change, and on ending conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. I will say more about these themes in future blogs.

Some things will need getting used to. Coming from a Foreign Office that is now  43% women, with 28% female ambassadors, I am immediately struck that I am operating in a world that is largely male. I do however have several female ambassadorial colleagues, and I look forward to meeting the  lay and religious women working at the Vatican. I am one of only three British ambassadors in the world who still wear a diplomatic uniform, which includes a bicorne hat and a sword. I still need to improve my Italian. It has been serviceable so far, although I did get rather lost when an archbishop was explaining Thomas Aquinas’s views on sin to me.

Perhaps the biggest challenge will be working out how to work with an organisation that represents the Catholic  Church, not an international organisation, not an NGO and not a state. The Pope puts moral matters first and aims to speak to the hearts of men and women. Traditional foreign policy concerns tend to be more temporal. But as someone who was gently reprimanded at university for seeing history through a moral prism, I suspect I might enjoy that particular challenge…

15 comments on “Starting at the Holy See”

  1. Heartiest Congratulations!

    I am a regular visitor to the Holy See, primarily to the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialog [PCID] but was not aware of a UK Ambassador there. I shall try and meet you on my next visit.

  2. Congratulations on your appointment.
    All your predecessors, those I’ve been aware of anyway ( ! ), have found it a stimulating role.

  3. Pope Francis has been clear he wanted more women in church governance for their “feminine genius” and in their unique perspectives of world issues. Congratulations in your new role and we look forward to your significant contributions.

  4. Congratulations on your new role. I never knew that the Vatican had a Uk ambassador. Rome is such a wonderful City to visit. Enjoy your time there as well as your new job.

  6. What an adventure – the Vatican is a great crossroads, and with Francis you have a global leader like no other (check out twiplomacy for his impact) ! Certainly the contrast between deepest Cornwall and Rome will be fascinating.

    I hope it is a really fascinating and rich posting for you – and you come across more Francis than Borgias …. they are both around!

  7. We welcome you to Rome and look forward to working with you. Your background will be very helpful as we move forward. Thanks for so generously offering yourself in such an important service. S. Sheila

  8. Congratulations on your appointment. As a Secondary headteacher of a Catholic school in England, I look forward to following your work in developing a place for the recent Encyclicals of Francis’ reign in the work of the UK government. Good luck!

  9. Congratulations on your appointment. Working in a small and unusual place can be deeply rewarding and very demanding.
    Out of curiosity, which are the other two ambassadorial appointments requiring the wearing of diplomatic uniform?

    1. Thanks for your comment, Tim. Diplomatic uniform is worn in Thailand and Spain as well as the Holy See.

  11. As a Seminarian due to return shortly to the Pontifical College Beda opposite St.Pauls Basilica for year two of four. I look forward to meeting your Excellency soon as your predecessor always enjoyed visiting as I am sure you will too. You are most welcome anytime. Best wishes at the start of your new journey and we will keep you in our prayers.

  12. Congratulations on your new role and taking the time to post a blog introducing yourself and thoughts thus far. I hope your social profile continues to grow and you share with people more of your experiences.

  13. Sally

    Greetings from the Channel Islands and from Beaulieu Convent School where all the girls salute you and wish you every success and happiness in your new role. As a female role model they love your official diplomatic uniform and some of our prefects in the sixth form are very jealous about the sword ! We will try and make a visit to Rome during your time there and hope to meet you personally in that space where the UK and the Vatican meets !

    Ad Multos Annos

    Chris Beirne
    Headmaster
    Beaulieu
    Jersey

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About Sally Axworthy

Sally is currently British Ambassador to the Holy See. She took up her position in Rome in September 2016, after 5 years at the Foreign Office as Head of Somalia…

Sally is currently British Ambassador to the Holy See. She took up her position in Rome in September 2016, after 5 years at the Foreign Office as Head of Somalia Unit (2011-2013), and then as Joint Head of North Africa Department (2013-2016). She spent most of that time on the UK initiative to help Somalia emerge from civil war; and to establish a Government of National Unity in Libya.

Sally joined the FCO in 1986. Her career has taken her to Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and India. From 2001-2006 she worked at a government regional office in south west England on providing services to vulnerable adults.

Sally is married to Michael, an academic specialising in Iran, and they have four children. When in the UK, they live in Cornwall where Sally enjoys walking and running (very slowly) in the rain and the fog.

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