Fausto Tardelli (born 5 January 1951) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been bishop of

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

since 2014 and bishop of

Pescia Pescia () is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the river of the same name. History Archaeological excavations have suggest ...

as well since 2023. He was bishop of

San Miniato San Miniato is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at a historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of the E ...

from 2004 to 2014.

Biography

Fausto Tardelli was born in

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

on 5 January 1951 in Lucca. He entered the diocesan seminary of the Archdiocese of Lucca in 1964, and after completing all his studies there was ordained a priest of that archdiocese on 29 June 1974. He then studied in Rome, first for four years at the Almo Collegio Capranica and then at the Pontifical Alphonsian Academy, earning a licentiate in 1977 and a doctorate in moral theology in 1986, with a thesis on "Alterità e etica. La relazione con l'altro e l'impegno etico nelle opere di Emmanuel Levinas". He also studied at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

in 1981-1982. Starting in 1978 he was Professor of Moral Theology at the seminary in Lucca and at the Interdiocesan Studio of Camaiore (part of the Theological Faculty of Central Italy). He was Scout ecclesiastical assistant in Lucca beginning in 1979; assistant of the Catholic Action Student Movement from 1978 to 1992; vice chancellor and then chancellor of the curia from 1983 to 1993; diocesan assistant of Catholic Action from 1984 to 1987; assistant to the

Italian Catholic Federation of University Students The Italian Catholic Federation of University Students (, FUCI) is a federation of groups representing Roman Catholic university students in Italy. History On December 8, 1889, it was founded in Rome the Saint Sebastian Circle which published the ...

until 1992; parish priest at the parish of San Concordio in Moriano, then in Massarosa, and finally in San Pietro Somaldi and San Leonardo in Lucca from 1986 to 2001. He organized and prepared the diocesan synod and became its secretary in 1996. pro-vicar general and moderator of the curia beginning in 2001. That same year he was named a canon of the cathedral chapter of Lucca. He was later appointed vicar general.

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 ...

appointed him bishop of San Miniato on 6 March 2004. He received his episcopal consecration in Lucca on 2 May from Bruno Tommasi, Archbishop of Lucca. He was installed in San Miniato on 30 May. On 8 October 2014,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named him bishop of Pistoia, and he was installed in his new diocese on 8 December. On 14 October 2023, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Pescia as well, joining the two dioceses in the person of a single bishop. His installation in Pescia took place on 14 January 2024. In the Italian Episcopal Conference he is Secretary of the Commission for the Laity. He is also secretary of the Tuscan Episcopal Conference. Tardelli is the Grand Prior of the Italia Centrale Appenninica Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy bio
Living people 1951 births People from Lucca Alphonsian Academy alumni 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Grand Priors of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre {{21C-Italy-RC-bishop-stub