WASHINGTON (CNS) – Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to Mexico since 2007, to be the new apostolic nuncio to the United States.

He succeeds Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who has held the post since 2011. Archbishop Vigano turned 75 in January, the age at which canon law requires bishops to run their resignation into the pope.

As president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, shared “a heartfelt greeting and my prayerful support” of the newly named nuncio “as he embarks on his service to our country.”

“A shared closeness with the church in Mexico already creates a strong fraternal bond between us,” said the archbishop.

“With fond affection, allow me also to thank Archbishop Vigano for his selfless contributions to the life of the Catholic Church in the United States,” Archbishop Kurtz added.

A nuncio is a Vatican diplomat with the rank of ambassador. He is responsible for diplomatic relations with the government, but also serves as the pope’s representative to the church in a given country, which includes responsibility for coordinating the search for and vetting of candidates to become bishops.

Christophe Louis Yves Georges Pierre was born Jan. 30, 1946, in Rennes in France’s Brittany region, where his family has had roots for many generations. He first attended school at Antsirabe in Madagascar, pursued his secondary education at the College of Saint-Malo in France and also spent one year in Morocco at Lycee Francais of Marrakesh.

He entered Saint-Yves seminary in Rennes in 1963, but he interrupted his studies for two years of military service in 1965 and 1966. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Rennes.