Leo XIV appoints new representative to Syria

Having entered the Holy See’s diplomatic service in 2003, Bishop Luigi Roberto Cona, 60, has served in numerous nunciatures: Panama, Portugal, Cameroon, Morocco, Jordan, and Turkey. He joined the General Affairs Section of the Secretariat of State in 2019 before being appointed nuncio to El Salvador by Pope Francis in 2022. His successor has not yet been named.

In Syria, he replaces Cardinal Mario Zenari, who retired at the age of 80 on February 2. As nuncio in Damascus from 2008 to 2026, this experienced diplomat served during the turbulent period of the Syrian civil war. The final years of his mission in this country, where 90% of the population is Muslim, were marked by the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the rise to power of Ahmed al-Charaa, a former jihadist.

Archbishop Luigi Roberto Cona will need to continue dialogue with the new authorities and attempt to stem the gradual disappearance of Christians from the country. According to estimates, approximately 80% of the 1,500,000 Christians who lived in Syria before the war have left the country over the past 15 years. Since the advent of the new regime, great uncertainty surrounds their fate.

While the new Syrian authorities have been reassuring toward the country’s minorities since taking office, a sense of insecurity persists. Several attacks have targeted the Christian community in recent months. The attack on an Orthodox church in Damascus on June 22, 2025, resulted in the deaths of 25 people. On December 31, an attack in the Christian quarter of Aleppo was foiled, though it resulted in the death of a police officer.

Since the regime change, a certain instability continues to prevail in the country. Regular clashes occur there. Last January, fighting between government forces and Kurdish militias in Aleppo resulted in the deaths of many civilians. A ceasefire has since been signed.