Paolo Martinelli, OFMCap (born 22 October 1958) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the

apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of the

Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiæ Meridionalis) is an apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church with territorial jurisdiction for Oman, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The vicar apostolic of the ...

Early life

He studied theology in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and was ordained a priest on 7 September 1985. He studied at 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 ...

, where he obtained a licentiate in fundamental theology and subsequently a doctorate in theology with a thesis on the thought of

Hans Urs von Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar (12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered an important Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He was announced as his choice to become a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, b ...

. He was a member of the faculty of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

(since 1992) and at the Pontifical University of Antonianum(since 1993), where he was also the Dean of the Franciscan Institute Spirituality from 2004 to 2014. Since 2006, he was also the Consultor of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. He has also been the Consultor of the

General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops, considered as an advisory body for the pope, is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his office. It is described in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as "a ...

, and since 2012, he has been a Consultor of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

Bishop

On 24 May 2014,

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 Martinelli as the auxiliary bishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan and the

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 ...

Musti in Numidia Musti in Numidia, also called ''Musti Numidiae'', was an ancient city and bishop jurisdiction (bishopric), and is presently a Catholic titular see,(bishop's government see of a former government under a church's responsibility, also known as a dea ...

. He was ordained bishop in the Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary on 28 June 2014. He chose “Gloria Dei Vivens Homo” (The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive) as his episcopal motto. Since 2014, he has been the Episcopal Vicar for Consecrated Life. Monsignor Paolo Martinelli is also a member of the Italian Bishops Conference since 2015 and was elected the President of the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Consecrated Life of the conference in 2021. Msgr. Martinelli has also authored and edited several books and articles on spiritual theology and the various vocations in the Church. In May 2022, Martinelli was appointed by

as the apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia, succeeding

Paul Hinder Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. He was formally installed as apostolic vicar on 2 July 2022.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinelli, Paolo Living people 1958 births Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular bishops Roman Catholic bishops in the Middle East Capuchin bishops Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula