The Archbishop had been serving since 2015 as papal nuncio to the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
Archbishop Nugent, who hails from the midwest of Ireland, spoke to Vatican News about his experience in Haiti and about what his new appointment says about the Pope's dedication to interreligious dialogue.
He said serving in Haiti has been a rewarding and "intense spiritual experience" for him, marked by the wonderful people he has met during his years of service there.
"Haiti is a very poor country," he said. "It gets a lot of negative publicity in the media because of the natural disasters, the political instability, and the violence."