Daniele Libanori S.J. (born 27 May 1953) is an

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

prelate of the

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who has been a

Auxiliary Bishop of Rome The Diocese of Rome ( la, Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana; it, Diocesi di Roma) is the ecclesiastical district under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church ...

since 2018. He began his career with several years as a parish priest and a decade as rector of the seminary of the Archdiocese of Ferrara. He joined the Jesuits in 1991 and worked as a university chaplain and then as the rector of parishes in Rome until becoming a bishop in 2018.

Life

Daniele Libanori was born on 27 May 1953 in Ostellato in the Ferrara province. He received a licentiate in theology of the evangelization and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in theology of the Christian life. Libanori was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of the Archdiocese of Ferrara on 11 June 1977 by Filippo Franceschi,

Archbishop of Ferrara The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio ( la, Archidioecesis Ferrariensis-Comaclensis) has existed since 1986, when the diocese of Comacchio was combined with the historical archdiocese of Ferrara. It is a suffragan of the archdioce ...

. After his ordination Libanori was the assistant priest for the

Vigarano Mainarda Vigarano Mainarda ( Ferrarese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ferrara in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northeast of Bologna and about west of Ferrara. Vigarano Mainarda borders the following municipalities ...

parish and then the parish priest for Madonna dei Boschi from 1979 to 1983. central diocesan sector. He served as the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Ferrara-Comacchio archdiocesan

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

from 1982 until 1991. Libanori entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

on 26 December 1991 and made his

solemn vows A solemn vow is a certain vow ("a deliberate and free promise made to God about a possible and better good") taken by an individual during or after novitiate in a Catholic religious institute. It is solemn insofar as the Church recognizes it a ...

as a Jesuit on 18 October 2002. He served as a university

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

from 1993 to 1997 and then spent a year in the Jesuit community in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

for further formation experience. Libanori served as a university chaplain again for the

La Sapienza University The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

in Rome from 1998 until 2003. He was the rector of the

Church of the Gesù , image = Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Giacomo della Porta's façade, precursor of Baroque , mapframe = yes , mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a fulls ...

from 2003 to 2016 and rector of the Church of San Giuseppe Falegname from 2017 until becoming a bishop in 2018. On 23 November 2017,

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. ...

appointed Libanori an

and titular bishop of

Buruni file:Tunisie carte archéologique.PNG, Archaeology map of Tunisia Buruni is an ancient city of the Maghreb, in North Africa. The city has been identified with ruins at Henchir-El-Dakhla in Tunisia. History Buruni, was an ancient Roman Empire, Roman ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member 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 of dioceses. The role or offic ...

in the

Lateran Basilica The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

on 13 January 2018 from the Vicar of Rome

Angelo De Donatis Angelo De Donatis (born 4 January 1954) is an Italian Catholic prelate who currently serves as Cardinal Vicar (officially Vicar General of His Holiness), Archpriest of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical ...

, with Bishops Gianrico Ruzza and Andrea Turazzi as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. He was assigned responsibility for the central sector of the Diocese and named the diocesan delegate for the clergy and the seminaries on 24 May 2019. Libanori is also a well-known

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...

for Rome. He was named a member of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...

on 14 April 2018. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in 2020 saw Libanori take a vocal stand against the closing of all churches in Rome. Cardinal De Donatis issued a decree closing all Roman churches leading some like Cardinal

Konrad Krajewski (Mercy) , coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Konrad Krajewski (Cardinal).svg , ordination = 11 June 1988 , ordained_by = Władysław Ziółek , consecration = 17 September 2013 , consecrated_by = Giuseppe Bertello , cardinal = 28 June 2018 , c ...

to ignore the directive. Pope Francis himself disapproved and requested that the decree be rescinded. Libanori himself agreed that churches needed to remain open and so sided with the pope on the issue. He issued a letter on 19 March to the priests in the central sector of the diocese where he expressed his opinions. The letter was published in La Civilità Cattolica entitled "Faith at the time of Covid-19". Libanori noted that "many complain that the closing of the churches is part of the restrictions" but affirmed that "it is the state, not the church, that must legislate in terms of public health". The bishop further elaborated that "an open church might also be a sign of comfort" for the people during the pandemic.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libanori, Daniele 1953 births 21st-century Italian titular bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Bishops in Lazio Living people Jesuit bishops Italian Jesuits Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints People from the Province of Ferrara