By Vatican News
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has expressed his “deep condolences” upon learning of the death of Swiss Cardinal Paul Emil Tscherrig, former Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and the Republic of San Marino, who passed away Tuesday, May 12, at the age of 79.
In a telegram, the Pope conveyed his thoughts to the cardinal’s family and to the diocesan community of Sion, where Tscherrig was incardinated, and recalled with gratitude his “faithful service as a papal representative in various countries and later as a member of several dicasteries of the Holy See.”
The Holy Father remembered that Cardinal “acted generously” and “bore witness to love for the Church and for the Successor of Peter.”
Finally, Pope Leo concluded the message by entrusting the soul “of this minister of the Gospel” to God, so that He may “welcome him into the light that knows no sunset,” and invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary, while sending the apostolic blessing to all those affected “by this sudden loss.”
A Long Service in the Nunciature
Cardinal Paul Emil Tscherrig was born in Unterems, Switzerland, on February 3, 1947.
He was ordained a priest in 1974 and later earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Pope John Paul II appointed him to the Holy See’s diplomatic service in 1978 as Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature, serving in Uganda, South Korea, Mongolia, and Bangladesh.
In 1996, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Voli and Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi. His episcopal consecration was presided over by Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano on June 27 of that year.
His service in the Church then led him to be appointed Nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Bahamas in 2000.
From 2001, he also served in Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
In 2004, he assumed the nunciature in South Korea and Mongolia, followed by assignments in the Nordic countries, then Argentina, and finally, until 2024, he served as Nuncio to Italy and San Marino—the first non-Italian to hold the position.
Pope Francis created him Cardinal in the Consistory of September 30, 2023.
