Is Callista Gingrich the best choice for the new U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See?

Donald Trump made Callista Gingrich his official nominee.

Just before President Donald Trump set off to meet Pope Francis for the first time, he made his formal nomination for the new U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Callista Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was rumored as Trump's nomination for months, but it became official on Friday, May 19.

Gingrich is a former congressional aide and would succeed Ambassador Ken Hackett. If confirmed by the Senate, she will become the third woman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.

Gingrich graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa in 1998, majoring in music and she is a longtime choir member at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, according to the Catholic Herald.

"It might make me biased, but I think that her years of singing in the choir at the national shrine has given her a backstage pass to some of the most important events in the life in the church in the United States, including two papal visits," stated John Schlageter, executive director of the Bethlehem University Foundation in Washington and friend of the Gingrichs.

Callista Gingrich is also president of Gingrich Productions, a production company that specializes in documentaries. In 2010, Gingrich Productions produced "Nine Days That Changed the World" documenting John Paul II's 1979 nine-day pilgrimage to Poland. Many believe his pilgrimage played a part in the fall of communism in Europe.

"She loves the Church and the United States," Schlageter explained to Catholic News Service. "I think she's a wonderful choice."

However, critics have come forward to speak out against President Trump's decision, noting Callista Gingrich's open confession to having an affair with Newt when he was married.

"I don't think she has any experience in this," expressed Jesuit Fr. Gerald Fogarty, a professor of religious studies and history at the University of Virginia, noting Gingrich would be "the most extrordinarily unqualified" ambassador in U.S. history. "I'm just shocked that they didn't find somebody that could maybe pave the way a little bit more, to smooth things over."

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