Aurel Percă (born August 15, 1951) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n prelate of the Catholic Church who was named Archbishop of Bucharest on 21 November 2019. He served as auxiliary bishop of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

from 1999 to 2019.

Biography

Born in

Săbăoani Săbăoani ( hu, Szabófalva) is a commune in Neamț County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Săbăoani and Traian. In 2002, the commune had a population of 10,301, of whom all but four were declared ethnic Romanians. 98 ...

, Neamț County, he attended high school there and completed his studies at the

Roman Catholic Theological Institute of Iași The Sf. Iosif Roman Catholic Theological Institute is a private university, with a Roman Catholic character and liturgical tradition, in Iaşi, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, ...

in 1969. He was ordained a priest in 1979 and became assistant priest at a parish in

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

. He earned degrees in Eastern theology from the Pontifical Oriental Institute and in moral theology from the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, whose teachings inspired the establishment of the Academy. The Pontifical Alphonsian Academy (; ), also commonly known as the Alphonsianum, is a pontifical institution of higher education founded in 1949 by the Re ...

. In 1985, he became a professor of moral theology and patristics at the Iaşi seminary and was its rector from 1989 to 1994. In 1994 he was named vicar general of the archdiocese while continuing to teach. In 1999

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him auxiliary bishop of Iași. He received his episcopal consecration as

titular bishop 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 ...

Mauriana {{more footnotes, date=July 2017 Mauriana was an ancient city and bishopric in Roman North Africa, which remains a Latin Church titular see of the Catholic Church. History Mauriana was among the many towns in the Roman province of Mauretania C ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named him Archbishop of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

on 21 November 2019.

References

1951 births Living people People from Săbăoani 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Romania 21st-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Pontifical Oriental Institute alumni {{RC-archbishop-stub