Pio Vittorio Vigo (4 November 1935 – 30 April 2021) was an Italian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Archishop (personal title) emeritus of Acireale in the

Province of Catania The Province of Catania ( it, Provincia di Catania; scn, Pruvincia di Catania) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1, ...

. He was installed as bishop of the diocese on 30 November 2002, having been nominated on 15 October of the same year. Due to his advanced age, he tendered his resignation as bishop of the diocese on 26 July 2011. He was replaced by Monsignor Antonino Raspanti, who assumed office on 1 October 2011.

Clerical history

On 20 September 1958, at the age of 22, he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. Less than 23 years later on 13 January 1981 he was elected titular Bishop of Astigi, Spain and auxiliary Bishop of

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

. He was consecrated a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 14 February 1981 at

Acireale Cathedral Acireale Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Acireale, ''Cattedrale Maria Santissima Annunziata'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Acireale in Sicily, province of Catania, Italy. It was de ...

by Cardinal

Salvatore Pappalardo Salvatore Pappalardo (23 September 1918 – 10 December 2006) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Palermo for over 25 years, from 1970 to 1996. He was the first senior clergyman from Sicily to speak out ag ...

. In 1985 he was nominated Bishop of

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

, in 1997, he was appointed

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

, and on 15 October 2002 he was nominated Bishop of Acireale. On 30 November 2002 he was installed as bishop, replacing Salvatore Gristina who as of 2009 serves as Archbishop of Catania. The Diocese of Acireale is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the

Archdiocese of Catania The Archdiocese of Catania ( la, Archidioecesis Catanensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic territory in Sicily, southern Italy, with its seat in Catania. It was elevated to an archdiocese in 1859, and became a metropolitan see in 2000. Its suff ...

. It was formed on 27 June 1844, but the first bishop was not appointed until 1872. As of 2006, the diocese contained 111

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and 171 priests. On 26 July 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 ...

accepted his resignation, which was tendered on account of his advanced age. Monsignor Antonino Raspanti (born

Alcamo Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilo ...

20 June 1959) was appointed his successor and assumed office on 1 October 2011. Vigo studied philosophy 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 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and served as a professor of philosophy at the Seminary of Acireale from 1958 to 1981. He had also written many religious texts which have been published. His personal motto was: ''In Simplicitate Cordis''. Vigo died in 2021 from COV1D-19.

Bibliography

* ''Gocce di vita'', Benedettine di Priscilla, 1966 * ''Ancora e giorno'', Catania, Tringale, 1982 * ''Cattedrale aperta'', Monreale, 1998 * ''Scintille di gioia'', Palermo, Il pantocratore, 2000 * ''Mani cariche di canto'', Palermo, La Palma, 2003 * ''Il testamento di Gesù: le ultime sette parole'', Palermo, Alba, 2003 * ''Offrire il silenzio'', Palermo, Abadir, 2006 * ''Briciole'', Palermo, Abadir, 2008

References

* Pio Vittorio Vigo, Catholic Hierarchy * Pio Vittorio Vigo, Italian Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Vigo, Pio Vittorio 1935 births 2021 deaths People from Acireale Bishops in Sicily Religious leaders from the Province of Catania 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Veneto