The United States Embassy to the Holy See, is located on the Aventine hill in the beautiful Villa Domiziana, which was built as a private residence in 1953. In 1994 the United States government acquired the property as the new chancery for the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.

Formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See were established in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. The mission works in partnership with the Holy See on global issues including HIV/AIDS, world hunger, religious freedom and human rights. As a global entity, the Holy See is influential on many issues and has far-reaching influence in even the most remote corners of the world.

Dr. Miguel Humberto Diaz, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See

Until his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Díaz, 45, was a professor of theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, both in Collegeville, Minnesota. He is a board member of the Catholic Theological Society of America and former president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. (full biography)

Julieta Valls Noyes
Deputy Chief of Mission

Julieta Valls Noyes has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States Embassy to the Holy See since August 2008. She is a career diplomat with over twenty years of foreign and domestic assignments with the U.S. Department of State. Prior to this assignment, Ms. Noyes was the Deputy Director of the Operations Center, the 24-hour crisis management and communications center of the State Department. In that position, she managed over 40 people and a multi-million dollar budget. During her tenure, the Operations Center handled several global crises, including evacuations from and attacks on U.S. embassies. ...(full biography)