Gualtiero Bassetti (born 7 April 1942) is an Italian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

who was Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve from 2009 to 2022. He has been a bishop since 1994 and was made 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 ...

in 2014. He was president of the

Italian Episcopal Conference The Italian Episcopal Conference ( it, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana) or CEI is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, the official assembly of the bishops in Italy. The conference was founded in 1971 and carr ...

from 2017 to 2022.

Priest

Gualtiero Bassetti was born on 7 April 1942 in Popolano di Marradi. He attended the minor and major seminary of the archdiocese of Florence and was ordained a priest on 29 June 1966 in Florence. He served as vicar in the parish of St. Michael in San Salvi. In 1968 he became assistant at the minor seminary of Florence and then rector in 1972. Seven years later, he was subsequently appointed rector of the major seminary of Florence. He served there for 11 years and was then appointed pro-vicar and vicar general of the archdiocese.

Bishop and archbishop

On 9 July 1994 he was appointed bishop of Massa Marittima-Piombino and consecrated on 8 September 1994 by Cardinal

Silvano Piovanelli Silvano Piovanelli (21 February 1924 – 9 July 2016) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Florence from 1983 to 2001, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. Biography Silvano Piovanelli was born in Bor ...

, Archbishop of Florence. He was named bishop of

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and '' comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea lev ...

on 21 November 1998. He was named the archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve on 16 July 2009. He was elected head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Umbria in 2012 and was appointed deputy president of the

Cardinal

On 22 February 2014, Bassetti was raised to the rank of

by Pope Francis. Bassetti commented in response: "My aims have not changed. I want to visit factories and hospitals, because as the Pope says, we must 'be pastors with the odor of sheep.' This is the time to roll our sleeves back." He also praised the Pope's nomination of Archbishop Loris Capovilla as "a direct reference the Second Vatican Council". ''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

'' called it a "surprise nomination". It was the first time a bishop of Perugia had been named a cardinal since Gioacchino Pecci, later

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

, in 1853. His selection was seen, according to

John L. Allen John L. Allen Jr. (born January 20, 1965) is an American journalist and author who serves as editor of the Catholic news website ''Crux'', formerly hosted by '' The Boston Globe'' and now independently funded. Before moving to ''The Boston Glob ...

, as a demonstration of Francis' preference for "traditionally neglected locales" and for "political moderates". Another observer described him as "instantly papabile, a man cut from the same cloth as Francis". Giovanni Paciullo, Rector of the University for Foreign Students of Perugia, called the nomination a tribute to Bassetti's "constant concern for the least, the excluded, the foreigner ... which brought him into the paths of marginalization and suffering..." Bassetti has celebrated Mass in Latin using the Missal promulgated by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

in 1962 and delivered homilies at such liturgies. Pope Francis named him a member of

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

, and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In 2016 at the request of Pope Francis he authored the meditations for the Good Friday

Way of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

service at the Colosseum. On 23 May 2017, Pope Francis named Bassetti to a five-year term as head of the

(CEI). Bassetti's name was one of three presented to the Pope by the Conference membership and the one who had received the most votes from them. At the same time he extended Bassetti's appointment as Archbishop of Perugia for five years despite the fact that Bassetti had submitted his resignation as required on his 75th birthday a few weeks earlier. Opening the CEI's annual meeting on 25 September, Bassetti called for collegiality and dialogue between bishops and with the entire Church. He said he planned to end the practice of beginning the annual meeting with the president's address and would instead conclude the meeting by summarizing their debate and "seeking a point of equilibrium". As a starting point, he said Catholics could not be divided into those who prioritize personal morality and those who advocate for social justice. He spoke of the need to integrate migrants into Italian society, implying support for citizenship for those born in Italy. A reform of the tax system, he said, could support families, especially large ones, promote childbirth and provide employment. Pope Francis named him a member of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

on 6 August 2019. According to Vatican journalist Sandro Magister, Bassetti was resistant to Pope Francis's desire to convene a synod of the Church in Italy, leading to tension with the pope. Pope Francis accepted his resignation as archbishop of Perugia on 27 May 2022.

Health

After experiencing a fever, Bassetti tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

on 28 October 2020. He was admitted to Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital in Perugia on 31 October, and was in the intensive care unit from the night of 2-3 November until 13 November; his condition remained critical. On 19 November he was transferred to Rome's

Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic The Gemelli University Hospital ( it, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli) is a large general hospital in Rome, Italy. With 1575 beds, it is the second-largest hospital in Italy, the largest hospital in Rome and one of the la ...

to continue his convalescence.

References

External links