Paolo Pezzi, FSCB (; born 8 August 1960), also known as Pavel Pezzi, is an Italian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, currently serving as the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

archbishop of the Archdiocese of Moscow in Russia.

Biography

Early life and ministry

HE Msgr Paolo Pezzi was born in

Russi Russi () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about east of Bologna and about southwest of Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, on 8 August 1960. He studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (''Angelicum'') in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(1985–1990). He was ordained to the priesthood for the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St.Charles Borromeo in 1990. He subsequently was awarded a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in Theology (''Cattolici in Siberia, le origini, le persecuzioni, l’oggi'') by 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 ...

. He has worked in Russia since 1993, serving as a professor at several notable universities in Russia including

Novosibirsk State University Novosibirsk State University (NSU) is a public research university located in Novosibirsk, Russia. The university was founded in 1958, on the principles of integration of education and science, early involvement of students with research act ...

and

Russian State University for the Humanities The Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH; ), is a university in Moscow, Russia with over 25,000 students. It was created in 1991 as the result of the merger of the Moscow Urban University of the People (est. 1908) and the Moscow Sta ...

. He was rector of the

major seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of Mary Queen of the Apostles in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

from 2006 to 2007. Besides his native

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, he can speak

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Portuguese.

Episcopacy

On 21 September 2007 Fr. Pezzi was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mother of God at

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He replaced the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese, Tadevush Kandrusievich. He was consecrated in the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow on 27 October 2007 by Archbishop Kandrusievich, HE Msgr Antonio Mennini,

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Ferentium and

Apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

to Russian Federation, and HE Msgr

Joseph Werth Joseph Werth SJ (; born October 4, 1952, in Karaganda, Kazakhstan) is a Russian-German Roman Catholic prelate who has been the Bishop of Transfiguration in Novosibirsk since 2002. Biography Named as the Latin Church Apostolic Administrator of ...

SJ,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Transfiguration at Novosibirsk. On 19 January 2010 he was appointed

Grand Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be lowe ...

of Magistral Delegation of Russia of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...

. In 2011 he was granted Russian citizenship, and elected President of the

Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Russian Federation Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Russian Federation is a collective body of the national church and the administration of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia. Established and approved on March 2, 1999. Plenary Plenary sessions of the Confer ...

where he served for two terms. In 2012 he was appointed member of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

References

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bpezzi.html * http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/moth0.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Pezzi, Paolo 1960 births Living people People from Russi 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Russia Italian expatriate bishops Italian emigrants to Russia Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Pontifical Lateran University alumni Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Grand Priors of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

Biography

Early life and ministry

Episcopacy

See also

References

External links