Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Nigerian priest Msgr. Fortunatus Nwachukwu as the Chief Protocol Officer for the Secretariat of State.

Msgr. Nwachukwu was born in Ntigha, Nigeria, in 1960 and ordained in 1984. After further studies in theology, he joined the Vatican diplomatic corps and has served in Ghana, Paraguay, Algeria, and UN offices in Geneva.

He speaks various languages including English, Italian, German, Modern Hebrew, French, Spanish and Arabic.