Italo Dell’Oro, CRS (born June 20, 1953) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has been serving as auxiliary bishop for the

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

since 2021.

Biography

Early life

Dell’Oro was born on June 20, 1953 in Malgrate, in the province of Lecco, Italy. His parents were Guiseppe Dell'Oro and Silene (Crippa) Dell'Oro. He has two sisters, Michela and Edvige (Edy). His first cousin is Bishop Adelio Dell'Oro of the Diocese of Karaganda in Kazakhstan. In 1978, Dell'Oro entered the Somascan Fathers seminary in Rome, making his first profession to the congregation. He took his solemn vows to the Somascan Fathers in 1981. and received his Bachelor Sacred Theology degree in 1982 from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm.

Priesthood

On September 11, 1982, Dell’Oro was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Como at the Santuario Del Santissimo Crocifisso in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, Italy by Bishop Teresio Ferraroni of the Archdiocese of Milan. Three years after his ordination, Dell'Oro came to the United States to work as a priest assistant at Pine Haven Boys Center in Allenstown, New Hampshire, a school for troubled children operated by the Somascan Fathers. In 1988, he received a Master of Arts degree counseling and

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

from

Rivier University Rivier University is a private Catholic liberal arts university in Nashua, New Hampshire. Rivier is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education and approved by the New Hampshire Department of Education. History Rivier Universit ...

in Nashua, New Hampshire. In 1992, Dell'Oro was transferred to

Houston,Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, where he became pastor at Assumption Parish in that city. After eight years as Assumption, he was appointed dean of the Northeast

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

in Houston. This was followed in 2001 by his appointment as vocations director at the Somascan Fathers House of Formation in Houston. Dell'Oro was appointed director of ministry to priests for the archdiocese in 2005, a position he would hold for the next ten years. In 2014, he was elevated to formation director. In 2015, Dell'Oro became vicar for clergy and the secretariat director for clergy formation and chaplaincy services. He was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

in 2021.

Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston

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 Dell’Oro as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on May 18, 2021. On July 2, 2021, he was consecrated by Cardinal

Daniel DiNardo Daniel Nicholas DiNardo (born May 23, 1949) is an American Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the second and current archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston ...

. Archbishop Franco Moscone of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-S. Giovanni Rotondo in Italy was to serve as a co-consecrator but could not attend due to 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 ...

travel restrictions. Bishop

Brendan J. Cahill Brendan John Cahill (born November 28, 1963) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Victoria in Texas since 2015. Early life Brendan John Cahill was born on November 28, 1963, in C ...

served instead as co-consecrator.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Official Site

Episcopal succession

1953 births Living people People from the Province of Lecco Bishops appointed by Pope Francis {{RC-bio-stub