Vatican City, Nov 13, 2013 / 04:10 am
Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Vatican City's Secretary of State, who has reportedly been ill, will arrive in Rome next Saturday to undertake his post, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state emeritus, announced Nov. 12.
Cardinal Bertone stated, "(I) had a phone call with my successor, Archbishop Parolin, who will take his post next Saturday."
The former secretary of state's comment came at the conclusion of a presentation of his new book, published in Italian, called "Vatican Diplomacy in a Globalized World." The book is a selection of his diplomatic interventions whilst secretary of state, a post he held from 2006 until Oct. 15 of this year.
It was announced on Aug. 31 that Archbishop Parolin would be replacing Cardinal Bertone as secretary of state. He was appointed Oct. 15, but was unable to take part in the ceremony by which he formally assumed his new position because he needed to undergo an urgent – though not grave – surgery, according to what Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office, said during a media briefing that day.