Fortunato Frezza (born 6 February 1942) is an Italian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who devoted his career to Biblical scholarship and teaching. He has been a canon of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

since 2013.

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. ...

made him a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

on 27 August 2022.

Biography

Fortunato Frezza was born in the Montecalvello neighborhood of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

on 6 February 1942. He studied at the minor seminary of

Bagnoregio Bagnoregio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region of Lazio, located about northwest of Rome and about north of Viterbo. History The current main town was in ancient times a suburb of the hill town in ...

and the major seminary of Viterbo. On 28 June 1966 he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Bagnoregio by Bishop Luigi Rosa of Bagnoregio. He obtained a licentiate in theology from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in 1967 and a degree in sacred scripture from the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. It is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus. His ...

in Rome in 1977 with a thesis on the book of the prophet

Micah Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), and means "Who is like God?" The name is sometimes found with Theophoric name, theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in ''Jah, Yah'' and in ''Y ...

. From 1971 to 1984 he was parish priest of Sipicciano. During those years he also taught of sacred scripture in various places: as an assistant at the Pontifical Gregorian University; at La Quercia Viterbo Regional Seminary; at institutes of religious studies im Albano, Civita Castellana, and Viterbo; at the theological schools of the in Viterbo and of the

Salesians , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

in the Holy Land. In 1983 he joined the staff of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops and on 23 June 1997 he was named its under-secretary by

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 ...

. On 13 December 2011

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

confirmed his appointment as under-secretary until his 72nd birthday. In September 2013,

appointed him a canon of

and he was invested on 29 September; in 2022 he became Camerlengo of the Chapter of St. Peter in the Vatican. He has also held chaplaincies for Directorate of Health and Hygiene in the Vatican, for various monasteries of nuns, and for the football team

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

. He has authored numerous scholarly articles, especially in Biblical studies. He has been Master of Ceremonies and Spiritual Assistant of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

since 2015. He received his episcopal consecration on 23 July 2022 from Cardinal

Mauro Gambetti Mauro Gambetti O.F.M. Conv. (born 27 October 1965) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica, Vicar General for the Vatican State, and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter on 20 Februa ...

, becoming titular archbishop of Treba. On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis made him a

cardinal deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

, assigning him the deaconry

Santa Maria in Via Lata Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso. It is the Station days for Tuesday, the fifth week of lent. History The first Christi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frezza, Fortunato 1942 births Living people People from Viterbo Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Biblical scholars Grand Masters of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre 21st-century Italian cardinals Bishops appointed by Pope Francis

Biography

See also

References

External links