He was ordained a priest on 10 October 1969, entering the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1970.

He was elevated to the episcopacy on 6 January 1994, becoming titular archbishop of Glastonbury.

[2] On 13 June 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed him Apostolic Nunzio to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Pope John Paul II named him Apostolic Administrator of Estonia on 15 November 2001.

Pope Benedict XVI named him Apostolic Nuncio to Austria on 14 January 2009.