Mario Enrico Delpini (born 29 July 1951) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

. He has been serving as the Archbishop of

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 ...

since his installation on 9 September 2017. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and vicar general of that archdiocese.

Life

Mario Enrico Delpini grew up in

Jerago con Orago Jerago con Orago is a town and a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about south of Varese. It is formed by two main centres of Orago and Jerago (which houses t ...

and in 1975 was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood. He earned a degree in Italian Literature from the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (English: ''Catholic University of the Sacred Heart'', colloquially the ''Catholic University of Milan''), known as UCSC or UNICATT or simply Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 1 ...

and a licentiate in theology. Since 1975, Delpini taught the Italian language in the minor seminary of his native archdiocese and in 1989 he was named as the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and de ...

. In 1993, he was named as the dean of the seminary of

Venegono Inferiore Venegono Inferiore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about southeast of Varese. As of 31 December 2018, it had a population of 6,097 and an area of .A ...

and in 2000 he became the rector of all seminaries of the Milan archdiocese. In 2006, Cardinal

Dionigi Tettamanzi Dionigi Tettamanzi (14 March 1934 – 5 August 2017) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who was named a cardinal in 1998. He was Archbishop of Genoa from 1995 to 2004 and Archbishop of Milan from 2004 to 2011. Early years Tet ...

placed him in charge of one of the archdiocesan zones. On 13 July 2007,

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 soverei ...

named Delpini as 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 ...

of Stephaniacum, and Tettamanzi consecrated Delpini as a bishop on the following 23 September. Cardinal

Angelo Scola Angelo Scola (; born 7 November 1941) is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church, philosopher and theologian. He was Archbishop of Milan from 2011 to 2017. He had served as Patriarch of Venice from 2002 to 2011. He has been a cardinal since 20 ...

made him as the

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' ...

of the archdiocese in 2012. On 7 July 2017,

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 him as the new Archbishop of Milan, where he was installed on 9 September. On 27 August 2022, for the first time in the

Archdiocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

's history, the Pope chose to appoint cardinal an ordinare bishop (Mgr.

Oscar Cantoni Oscar Cantoni (born 1 September 1950) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Bishop of Como since 2016. He was previously Bishop of Crema from 2005 to 2016. On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis made him a cardinal. Early life Can ...

) instead of the Archbishop of Milan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delpini, Mario 1951 births Living people People from the Province of Varese 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Archbishops of Milan