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Former Sen. Donnelly confirmed as US ambassador to Vatican

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, an Indiana Democrat, arrives Nov. 6, 2018, to speak on at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis. Donnelly was defeated by his Republican challenger Mike Braun. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly will be heading to Rome as the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

The U.S. Senate approved Donnelly for the position in a voice vote Thursday.

President Joe Biden nominated Donnelly in October. Donnelly is a Democrat who served six years in the U.S. House from a South Bend-area district before winning election to the Senate in 2012. He lost his 2018 reelection bid to Republican Mike Braun. Donnelly has bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins called Donnelly “a person of deep Catholic faith and commitment to public service.”