United States Ambassador to the Holy See - wikipedia United States Ambassador to the Holy See Ambassador of the United States to the Holy See Apostolicae Sedis Legatus Civitatum Foederatarum Seal of the United States Department of State Incumbent Callista Gingrich since October 24, 2017 Nominator The President of the United States Inaugural holder William A. Wilson as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Formation April 9, 1984 Website U.S. Embassy - Vatican City The Ambassador of the United States to the Holy See is the official representative of the United States of America to the Holy See, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. The official representation began with the formal opening of diplomatic relations with the Holy See by President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II in 1984. Before the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's Postmaster General James Farley was the first high - ranking government official to normalize relations with the Holy See in 1933. In addition, Myron Taylor would serve during World War II as an emissary for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1951, President Harry S. Truman 's pick of World War II hero Mark W. Clark was defeated. Between 1951 and 1968, the United States had no official representative accredited to the Holy See. President Richard Nixon changed this when he appointed Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. as his personal representative. President Jimmy Carter followed with the appointment of former New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Every ambassador to date has been a Roman Catholic. The most recent Ambassador was Ken Hackett. The post is currently vacant, with Louis Bono serving as Chargé d'Affaires. President Trump has picked Callista Gingrich to be the new ambassador to the Holy See. Contents 1 History before formal diplomatic relations established 2 List of the ambassadors 3 Vacancy controversies 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History before formal diplomatic relations established See also : Holy See -- United States relations and Foreign relations of Pope Pius XII The United States had diplomatic relations with the Papal States from 1797 to 1867. The Papal States ceased to exist in 1870, when its last territory ( the city of Rome ) was lost to the Kingdom of Italy. After that, the international status of the Papacy was controversial until 1929, when the Italian government agreed to the establishment of Vatican City as a sovereign city - state. The United States was slow to establish full diplomatic relations with the re-established Holy See, partly due to the prevalence of anti-Catholicism in the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's Postmaster General James Farley was the first high - ranking government official to normalize relations with the Holy See in 1933 when the Postmaster General set sail for Europe, along with Soviet Commissar of Foreign Affairs Maxim Litvinoff on the Italian Liner SS Conte di Savoia `` Count of Savoy ''. In Italy Farley had an audience with Pope Pius XI, and dinner with Cardinal Pacelli, who was to accede to the papacy in 1939. Myron Charles Taylor, an industrialist, philanthropist and diplomat ( starting with World War II ), served from December 1939 until 1950 as an emissary to Pope Pius XII for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. On October 20, 1951, Truman nominated Mark W. Clark, a U.S. Army general and World War II hero, to be emissary to the Holy See. Clark later withdrew his nomination on January 13, 1952, following protests from U.S. Senator Tom Connally from Texas and Protestant groups. Between 1951 and 1968, the United States had no official representative accredited to the Holy See. In 1969, President Richard Nixon changed this when he appointed -- as his personal representative -- Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., a former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Nixon 's 1960 Republican Vice Presidential running mate and a former U.S. Ambassador ( to the United Nations, South Vietnam and West Germany ). In 1978, President Jimmy Carter followed with the appointment of Robert F. Wagner, Jr., a former Mayor of New York City, New York, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Spain. Heads of the U.S. Legation at Rome ( 1848 -- 1867 ) Name and Title Presentation of Credentials Termination of Mission Jacob L. Martin, Chargé d'Affaires August 19, 1848 August 26, 1848 Lewis Cass, Jr., Minister Resident November 19, 1849 November 27, 1858 John P. Stockton, Minister Resident November 27, 1858 May 23, 1861 Alexander Randall, Minister Resident June 6, 1862 August 4, 1862 Richard Milford Blatchford, Minister Resident November 26, 1862 May 20, 1863 Rufus King, Minister Resident January 8, 1864 August 17, 1867 List of the ambassadors The following is a list of U.S. Ambassadors to the Holy See, past and present : Name Years served Pope U.S. President William Wilson 1984 -- 1986 John Paul II Ronald Reagan Frank Shakespeare 1986 -- 1989 Thomas Patrick Melady 1989 -- 1993 George H.W. Bush Raymond Flynn 1993 -- 1997 Bill Clinton Lindy Boggs 1997 -- 2001 James Nicholson 2001 -- 2005 George W. Bush Francis Rooney 2005 -- 2008 Benedict XVI Mary Ann Glendon 2008 -- 2009 Miguel H. Díaz 2009 -- 2012 Barack Obama Ken Hackett 2013 -- 2017 Francis Callista Gingrich 2017 -- present Donald Trump Vacancy controversies In 2009, the post of ambassador remained vacant for several months because of tensions between the Vatican and the Obama administration over the issues of abortion and same - sex marriage. Three candidates were mentioned, including Caroline Kennedy and Douglas Kmiec. From November 2012 through mid-2013, the seat was also vacant, after Miguel Díaz left the office to teach at the University of Dayton. President Barack Obama nominated Ken Hackett, a longtime president of Catholic Relief Services, for the position in June 2013. Ken Hackett was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See on August 1, 2013. See also Embassy of the United States to the Holy See Holy See -- United States relations Foreign relations of the Holy See Ambassadors of the United States References Jump up ^ Mission Statement from the website of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See ^ Jump up to : `` Full text of `` Jim Farley S Story '' ``. Jump up ^ `` Callista Gingrich to be nominated as ambassador to Vatican ''. CNN. May 19, 2017. Jump up ^ From 1981 to 1984, Wilson was Reagan 's personal representative to the Holy See. ^ Jump up to : `` Obama 's candidates for Vatican ambassador failing ' simple standard ' ''. Catholic News Agency. April 9, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2009. Jump up ^ The Vatican versus the White House Irish Independent ( online ), April 18, 2009, Section : World News Jump up ^ `` Pope ' rejects Kennedy for being too liberal ' '' The Times ( UK ) April 15, 2009 Jump up ^ Jaweed, Kaleem ( June 14, 2013 ). `` Ken Hackett To Be Nominated As Ambassador To Vatican ''. Huffington Post. Retrieved June 18, 2013. Jump up ^ Rivera. `` CRS Congratulates Ken Hackett on his Confirmation as US Ambassador to the Holy See ''. Catholic Relief Services. Retrieved August 2, 2013. Jump up ^ Gibson. `` Former charity head confirmed as US ambassador to Vatican ''. Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2013. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of State website http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/index.htm ( Background Notes ). 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Question: ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states of america to the holy see
Answer: Callista Gingrich