(This one is for Patrick; and for all those who can't quite figure why such a posting, requiring living in two such desirable locations, would attract so little attention; and those who wish they'd noticed in time.)

Irish Catholic Named As British Ambassador

Britain has appointed a new ambassador to the Vatican, naming the first Catholic to the post since Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534.

The appointment of Francis Campbell, 35, on Tuesday also makes him the youngest ambassador in the British diplomatic corps and the first Irish Catholic to become a British ambassador since the Republic was granted independence in 1921. Sir Roger Casement, the last British ambassador of Irish origin, was found guilty of treason and hanged in 1917.

Britain and the Vatican partially restored relations in 1914, mending ties that had been severed 380 years earlier.

According to a statement released by the Archdiocese of Westminster, Protestants have held the post of ambassador to the Holy See, with a Catholic serving as deputy, since Britain established full diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1982.

Campbell's appointment fills a position that had been vacant for months, stirring speculation that Britain's interest in the Vatican was flagging. At one point, the vacant post was advertised in British newspapers -- an unusual form of recruitment for an ambassadorship.