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Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of UK in Holy See

6th April 2016

The Pope and Ukraine’s future

Ukraine's next generation
Yulia Marushevska, Head of the Odesa Regional Customs. Ukraine’s next generation is ready to change.

The Pope’s announcement at St Peter’s on 3 April that he is calling for a collection on behalf of the long suffering land and people of Ukraine was a significant gesture. On 24 April, all Catholic parishes in Europe will raise money for a country that since the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 has lived through the trauma of war. As many as 1.7 million Ukrainians are refugees in their own country. Many others are trapped behind the so-called Line of Control that still divides the separatist, Russian-controlled areas of the east from the rest of the country. Pope Francis spoke of “lands devastated by hostilities”, and especially of those who suffer most, “the elderly and the children”.

The Pope’s ambassador – or Nuncio – in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, has already seen some of that for himself. Over Easter, he was able to cross the Line of Control, something that few diplomat in Kyiv can do, to celebrate Mass in the one remaining Catholic church in Donetsk, a city that has been at the heart of much of the fighting. Religious faith is important in Ukraine. Many local religious leaders, like the Greek Catholic Major Archbishop, Sviatoslav Shevchuk (who is close to Pope Francis having once served as a bishop in Argentina), have been determined not to allow political division to damage their efforts to reach out to the different religious communities that make up the country. I have learned how Muslim Tatar families, exiled from their Crimean homeland, have been welcomed warmly by Christian parishes in Western Ukraine, far from home but sharing a common cause. And how Orthodox and Catholic communities have come together to reject outside efforts to divide them.

Let us hope that Europe’s 120,000 Catholic parishes will give generously. Ukraine has a right to make its own decisions on its future, without fear of invasion from its neighbour. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is meant to turn the clock back to the days of direct control from Moscow. And yet what is clear is that the next generation of Ukrainians is already going about the business of changing their country for the better. They are the real hope for Ukraine, as a fascinating series of #NextGenUA videos shows. While Pope Francis calls for “peace and respect for law in this sorely tested land”, the young people of Ukraine are already responding, forging a more prosperous and brighter future. They deserve our solidarity.

About Nigel Baker

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as…

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba (2003-6) and then as British Ambassador in La Paz, Bolivia (2007-11). In July 2016, Nigel finished his posting, and is currently back in London.

As the first British Ambassador to the Holy See ever to have a blog, Nigel provided a regular window on what the Embassy and the Ambassador does. The blogs covered a wide range of issues, from Royal and Ministerial visits to Diplomacy and Faith, freedom of religion, human trafficking and climate change.

More on Nigel’s career

Nigel was based in London between 1998 and 2003. He spent two years on European Union issues (for the UK 1998 EU Presidency and on European Security and Defence questions), before crossing St James’s Park to work for three years as The Assistant Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At St James’s Palace, Nigel worked on international issues, including the management of The Prince of Wales’s overseas visits and tours, on the Commonwealth, interfaith issues, the arts and international development.

Nigel spent much of the early part of his FCO career in Central Europe, after an initial stint as Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries in the Near East and North Africa department (1990-91). Between 1992 and 1996, Nigel served in the British embassies in Prague and Bratislava, the latter being created in 1993 after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak Republics.

Nigel joined the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in September 1989. Between 1996 and 1998 he took a two year academic sabbatical to research and write about themes in 18th century European history, being based in Verona but also researching in Cambridge, Paris and Naples. The research followed from Nigel’s time as a student at Cambridge (1985-88) where he read history and was awarded a First Class Honours degree, followed by his MA in 1992.

Before joining the Foreign Office, Nigel worked briefly for the Conservative Research Department in London at the time of the 1989 European election campaign.

Nigel married Alexandra (Sasha) in 1997. They have one son, Benjamin, born in Bolivia in September 2008.

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