Archbishop Bonazzi, 55, until now has been apostolic nuncio in Haiti, said Father Ciro Benedettini, deputy director of the Vatican press office, in an announcement today.
The Pope originally appointed Archbishop Michael Courtney to the Cuba post. The Irish-born prelate was killed on Dec. 29 as he concluded his mission as apostolic nuncio in the central African nation of Burundi.
Luigi Bonazzi was born in Gazzaniga, Italy. He was ordained a priest in 1973 and received episcopal ordination on Aug. 26, 1999, after being named papal representative in Haiti.
The last apostolic nuncio in Cuba was Mexican Archbishop Luis Robles Díaz, who was appointed vice president of the Holy See’s Pontifical Commission for Latin America.