Pio Vittorio Vigo (4 November 1935 – 30 April 2021) 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 ...

Archbishop (personal title) emeritus of Acireale in the

Province of Catania The province of Catania (; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1,116,917 as of 31 December 2014. Historically known also as ...

. He was installed as bishop of the diocese on 30 November 2002, having been nominated on 15 October of the same year. Due to his advanced age, he tendered his resignation as bishop of the diocese on 26 July 2011. He was replaced by Monsignor Antonino Raspanti, who assumed office on 1 October 2011.

Clerical history

On 20 September 1958, at the age of 22, he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. Less than 23 years later on 13 January 1981 he was elected titular Bishop of Astigi, Spain and auxiliary Bishop of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

. He was consecrated a

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 ...

on 14 February 1981 at

Acireale Cathedral Acireale Cathedral (, ''Cattedrale Maria Santissima Annunziata'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Acireale in Sicily, province of Catania, Italy. It was declared the seat of the ...

by Cardinal

Salvatore Pappalardo Salvatore Pappalardo may refer to: * Salvatore Pappalardo (cardinal) (1918–2006), Italian Roman Catholic cardinal * Salvatore Pappalardo (archbishop of Siracusa) (born 1945), Italian Roman Catholic prelate * Salvatore Pappalardo (composer) (181 ...

. In 1985 he was nominated Bishop of

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, in 1997, he was appointed

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, Southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

, and on 15 October 2002 he was nominated Bishop of Acireale. On 30 November 2002, he was installed as bishop, replacing Salvatore Gristina who as of 2009 serves as Archbishop of Catania. The Diocese of Acireale is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the Archdiocese of Catania. It was formed on 27 June 1844, but the first bishop was not appointed until 1872. As of 2006, the diocese contained 111

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and 171 priests. On 26 July 2011,

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 ...

accepted his resignation, which was tendered on account of his advanced age. Monsignor Antonino Raspanti (born

Alcamo Alcamo (; ) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometr ...

20 June 1959) was appointed his successor and assumed office on 1 October 2011. Vigo studied philosophy 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 ...

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, ...

and served as a professor of philosophy at the Seminary of Acireale from 1958 to 1981. He had also written many religious texts which have been published. His personal motto was: ''In Simplicitate Cordis''. Vigo died in April 2021, at the age of 86.

Bibliography

* ''Gocce di vita'', Benedettine di Priscilla, 1966 * ''Ancora e giorno'', Catania, Tringale, 1982 * ''Cattedrale aperta'', Monreale, 1998 * ''Scintille di gioia'', Palermo, Il pantocratore, 2000 * ''Mani cariche di canto'', Palermo, La Palma, 2003 * ''Il testamento di Gesù: le ultime sette parole'', Palermo, Alba, 2003 * ''Offrire il silenzio'', Palermo, Abadir, 2006 * ''Briciole'', Palermo, Abadir, 2008

References

* Pio Vittorio Vigo, Catholic Hierarchy * Pio Vittorio Vigo, Italian Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Vigo, Pio Vittorio 1935 births 2021 deaths People from Acireale Bishops in Sicily Religious leaders from the Metropolitan City of Catania 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops