New Canadian ambassador to Holy See
Pope Francis received the new Canadian Ambassador to the Holy See, Dennis Savoie, yesterday. During the meeting Ambassador Savoie presented the Pope with his credentials, which marked the start of the diplomat’s four-year term.
Ambassador Savoie said: “It was a very humbling experience. I felt very privileged to have been received by the Holy Father. I met a man who is very simple, very personable, makes you feel at ease right away. It was a very, very good meeting.”
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Ambassador Savoie said his “first priority” is to establish a network within which to identify areas for possible collaboration between Canada and the Holy See.
The new ambassador, who fills a post that had been empty for more than a year, said he also looks forward to working with other ambassadors in Rome on issues of common concern.
“Some of them are very focused in certain areas which I’m interested in, whether it’s social justice, whether it’s immigration or religious liberties,” he said.
Ambassador Savoie was born in Tracadie, New Brunswick, one of the eastern, maritime provinces, on 9 February 1945. He and his wife of 44 years, Claudette Surette, have two children and five grandchildren.
He comes to Rome after a long and successful career in the business and nonprofit sectors, namely a 27-year career with the New Brunswick Power Corporation, where he rose to vice president, and upon retirement, four years as executive director of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes.
A committed Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus since 1973, he later served as the Deputy Supreme Knight in New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States, from 2006 to 2013. This is his first diplomatic assignment.
Source: VIS/Vatican Radio