Díaz, Miguel Humberto, 1963-

Hide Profile

Miguel Humberto Díaz (born September 29, 1963) is an American theologian, diplomat and commentator who served as United States Ambassador to the Holy See. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 5, 2009. He resigned on November 5, 2012, and was immediately named University Professor of Faith and Culture at the University of Dayton. He was the first Hispanic U.S. Ambassador accredited to the Holy See.

Díaz was born in Havana, Cuba, and he and his family departed for Spain when he was nine. Two years later, he immigrated to Miami, Florida. He comes from a modest background; his father worked as a waiter and his mother worked as a data entry clerk. Díaz holds a B.A. from St. Thomas University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame.

Prior to his service as ambassador, he was a professor of theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in Minnesota. Díaz is the co-editor of the book From the Heart of Our People: Explorations in Catholic Systematic Theology and author of On Being Human: U.S. Hispanic and Rahnerian Perspectives, named "Best Book of the Year" by the Hispanic Theological Initiative at Princeton Theological Seminary. Díaz has taught religious studies and theology at Barry University, the University of Dayton and the University of Notre Dame. From 2001 to 2003, he taught and served as academic dean at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. He is a board member of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) and past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS).

As ambassador, Díaz helped launch the Religion in Foreign Policy Working Group of the Secretary of State's Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society. The Working Group facilitates regular dialogue between the U.S. foreign policy establishment and religious leaders, scholars, and practitioners worldwide on strategies to build more effective partnerships on issues such as conflict prevention, humanitarian assistance and national security.

After joining the University of Dayton, he was sought for analysis and comment by the national news media, especially upon the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013. He currently holds the John Courtney Murray University Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago where he continues to be sought by multiple media outlets for analysis and commentary.

He is fluent in French, Spanish, and Italian.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
memberOf Catholic Theological Society of America. corporateBody
employeeOf College of Saint Benedict Saint Joseph, Minn. corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf St. Thomas University corporateBody
employeeOf University of Dayton corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf University of Notre Dame. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Miami FL US
Havana 02 CU
Subject
Occupation
Ambassadors
Authors
Commentators
Diplomats
Professors (teacher)
Theologians
Activity

Person

Birth 1963-09-29

Male

Cubans,

Americans

French,

English,

Italian,

Spanish; Castilian

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62c9ncf

Ark ID: w62c9ncf

SNAC ID: 84329979