The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | URN | Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Tomasz Grysa as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda, marking a significant new chapter in relations between the Holy See and the Ugandan Catholic Church.
The appointment was officially announced on Thursday afternoon by Rev. Fr. Georges Kwami Kouwonou, Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature, in a brief statement released to the media at exactly 1:00 p.m.
“The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has appointed His Excellency Most Rev. Tomasz Grysa, Titular Archbishop of Rubicon, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda,” the statement read.
Archbishop Grysa, a seasoned Vatican diplomat from Poland, has until now been serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Madagascar, Seychelles, and Mauritius, while also acting as Apostolic Delegate to Comoros and La Réunion. His appointment to Uganda places him in one of the Catholic Church’s most influential diplomatic missions in East Africa.
Born in Poznań, Poland, on October 16, 1970, Archbishop Grysa was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Poznań in 1995. He holds a doctorate in Canon Law and joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in July 2001.
Over the years, he has built extensive diplomatic experience through assignments in several strategically important postings, including the Russian Federation, India, Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, the Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem and Palestine, as well as the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York.
The Archbishop is multilingual, speaking Polish, Italian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. He succeeds Archbishop Luigi Bianco of Italy, who served as Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda from February 2019 until mid-2025, before Pope Leo XIV transferred him to Slovenia.
The Apostolic Nuncio serves as the Pope’s personal representative both to the Ugandan government and to the local Catholic Church. Diplomatic relations between Uganda and the Holy See were formally established in 1966, shortly after Uganda attained independence. Before the establishment of a resident mission in Kampala, Uganda fell under the Apostolic Delegation for Eastern Africa based in Nairobi.
The first papal representative resident in Uganda was Archbishop Amelio Poggi, who served as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio from 1967 to 1969. Other early papal envoys included Archbishop Luigi Bellotti of Italy (1969-1975) and Belgian Archbishop Henri Lemaître (1975-981), followed by notable diplomats such as Archbishop Karl-Josef Rauber and Archbishop Luis Robles Díaz.
Since the mission was elevated to full nunciature status, Uganda has hosted several distinguished Vatican representatives, including French Archbishop Christophe Pierre (1999-2007), who later became a cardinal and Apostolic Nuncio to the United States; Korean Archbishop Paul Tschang In-Nam (2007-2012); and American Archbishop Michael August Blume, SVD (2013-2018).
