Piergiuseppe Vacchelli (born 4 February 1937) is the current adjunct secretary emeritus of the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies since his retirement was accepted by

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 ...

on 26 June 2012. He previously served as under-secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference and chairman of its Charitable Assistance for the Third World.

Early life

Vacchelli was born in Longardore di Sospiro in 1937. From 1948 to 1961 he attended the minor and then the major seminary of the

Diocese of Cremona The Diocese of Cremona () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan. The bishop of Cremon ...

, into which he was incardinated as a cleric. His priestly ordination was on 27 May 1961. From late 1961 to autumn 1963, he exercised his priestly ministry in the Parish of St. John Cross. He was sent to Rome in 1963 for studies in

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. He was awarded the JCL and returned to his diocese in 1967. In that year he was appointed to the pastoral service of the Parish of St. Peter in Cremona. In 1973 he was appointed secretary of the Bishop and, from 1975, also

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, a post he held until 1986. In 1986 he was appointed Pro-

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the diocese. From 1990 to 1993 he acted as Secretary General of the Diocesan Synod. In 1993 he was appointed parish priest and

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the Cathedral of Cremona.

Adjunct Secretary

Over the years he taught canon law and religion in the diocesan seminary at the School of Science and Letters Institute. From October 1996 he held the office of undersecretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference and chairman of its committee for charitable aid for developing countries. He was appointed adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in 2008 and at the same time

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 ''Minturnae'', receiving episcopal ordination on 3 July from Cardinal Secretary of State

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

, S.D.B. He knows French, Spanish and English.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vacchelli, Piergiuseppe Living people 1937 births Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples