Rev. James D. Conley, D.D., S.T.L. | Diocese of Lincoln website

Msgr. Richard Gyhra, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln in diplomatic service for the Vatican, has received a new appointment.

The announcement read: “The Holy Father has appointed Rev. Monsignor Richard Allen Gyhra, Nunciature Counsellor, as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Vienna and to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as well as Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the International Atomic Energy Agency (A.I.E.A.), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (C.T.B.T.O.) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (O.S.C.E.).”

Msgr. Gyhra has been serving at the Pontifical Delegation in Tanzania. He will formally take up duties in Vienna in September.

A native of Pawnee City, Msgr. Gyhra was ordained in 1999. He served as assistant pastor at several Lincoln parishes and was then sent to Rome, where he received his doctorate in sacred theology at St. Thomas Aquinas University (the Angelicum).

After receiving his degree, he was appointed to studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, where priests prepare for diplomatic service for the Holy See around the world.

Following his time there, he worked at the Apostolic Nunciature (papal embassy) of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo. He also served as secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. He then served five years as a desk officer for multilateral affairs in the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

Since 2022, Msgr. Gyhra has been serving as counselor of the Apostolic Nunciature in Tanzania, Africa. In a 2023 interview with The Register, he said he has been blessed to have lived and traveled in different parts of the world and interacted with many priests from different countries.

“There is a bond among priests that comes about from knowing and living the life of a priest, striving for holiness in this vocation and knowing the challenges that exist,” Msgr. Gyhra said.

Bishop James Conley expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father for "the confidence he has placed" in Msgr. Gyhra by appointing him to this new position; and by extension, "for the honor this brings to" Lincoln's diocese. He also congratulated Msgr. Gyhra and assured him of "the prayers of" diocesan faithful as he takes up his new post.