Businessman and campaign donor named ambassador to Holy See

Published: 2005-08-01

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- L. Francis Rooney III, an Oklahoma and Florida businessman who contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to recent Republican political campaigns, has been nominated by President George W. Bush to be ambassador to the Holy See. The seat has been vacant since former ambassador Jim Nicholson was confirmed as secretary of Veterans Affairs in January. Senate confirmation is required before Rooney officially takes the post. The Senate is in recess until Sept. 6. Rooney, 51, is a graduate of Georgetown University and its law school who serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Rooney Holdings. He and his wife, Kathleen, also a Georgetown graduate, are Catholic. They have been active in Catholic, political and civic circles in both Tulsa, Okla., and Naples, Fla., where Rooney Holdings has corporate offices.

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