Delio Lucarelli (24 November 1939 – 29 January 2024) was an Italian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate. He served as bishop of

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

from 1997 to 2015.

Early life and ordination

Lucarelli was born in

Fano Fano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by pop ...

, an episcopal seat in the

province of Pesaro and Urbino The province of Pesaro and Urbino (, ) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pesaro. It also borders the state of San Marino. The province is surrounded by San Marino and Emilia Romagna in the north, Umbria and ...

, on 24 November 1939. He studied at the Pontifical Marche Regional Seminary "Pio XI" in Fano. On 29 June 1965, Lucarelli was ordained a priest by Bishop Vincenzo Del Signore. After ordination he carried out his pastoral work as parochial vicar in Lucrezia, where he remained from 1965 to 1967, and San Michele al Fiume, a hamlet of

Mondavio Mondavio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about south of Pesaro. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...

, from 1967 to 1970. In that year he was appointed educator and animator at the regional seminary of Fano, where he then held the position of pro-rector and subsequently rector, from 1972 to 1988. On 13 June 1978, he received the honorary title of

Chaplain of His Holiness Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

from

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. In 1988, he was appointed general secretary for Italy of the Pontifical Society of Saint Peter the Apostle.

Bishop

On 30 November 1996, Lucarelli was appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

as bishop of Rieti; he succeeded

Giuseppe Molinari Giuseppe Molinari (born 11 January 1938) is an Italian Catholic bishop, who served as Archbishop of L'Aquila. Born in Scoppito, he was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1962. On 30 September 1989 he was appointed Bishop of Rieti by Pope ...

, previously appointed coadjutor archbishop of

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

. On 6 January 1997, he received episcopal consecration, in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

, through the imposition of the hands of the pontiff himself, co-consecrating archbishops

Giovanni Battista Re Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2020. He was elevated to the rank of Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal in 2001 and s ...

and

Myroslav Marusyn Miroslav Stefan Marusyn (26 June 1924 in Kniaze – 21 September 2009) was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic archbishop who served as the Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called the D ...

. On the 2 February, he took possession of the diocese. On 4 December 2002, Lucarelli called the diocesan synod; having concluded the work, and on 2 February 2006 he promulgated the synod book. Lucarelli resigned from his position due to the fact that he had reached the age limit, from the pastoral governance of the diocese of Rieti, which was accepted by Pope Francis on 15 May 2015. He was succeeded by

Domenico Pompili Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian arch ...

, of the clergy of Anagni-Alatri, until then undersecretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference. He remained apostolic administrator of the diocese until the entry of his successor on 5 September.

Death

Lucarelli died on 29 January 2024, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucarelli, Delio 1939 births 2024 deaths People from Fano 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Bishops of Rieti