Tommaso Caputo (born 17 October 1950) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

from 1980 to 2012, when he was named Territorial Prelate of Pompei.

Biography

Tommaso Caputo was born on 17 October 1950 in

Afragola Afragola (; nap, Afrahola , ) is a city and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in Italy. It is one of the 100 largest Italian cities (the ones that have a population of more than 63,000 inhabitants). The communal territory, measur ...

in Naples, Italy. He studied at the seminary in Naples and obtained a licenciate in sacred theology at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy. He was ordained a priest on 10 April 1974. His early assignments including the formation of seminarians, parish vicar, and religion teacher in the public schools. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1976. While there, he also earned a doctorate in canon law at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pont ...

. Caputo joined the diplomatic service of the

on 25 March 1980 where he occupied various posts at the Apostolic Nunciatures in Rwanda (1980–1984), the Philippines (1984–1987), Venezuela (1987–1989), and at the Secretariat of State (1989–1993). On 19 June 1993 he was named Head of Protocol in the Secretariat of State. Caputo was appointed Titular Archbishop of Otriculum and Apostolic Nuncio to Malta and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

on 3 September 2007. He was ordained a bishop by

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 ...

(principal consecrator), and the Cardinals

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine o ...

and

Marian Jaworski Marian Franciszek Jaworski ( uk, Мар'ян Францішек Яворський, 21 August 1926 – 5 September 2020) was a Cardinal Priest and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins, Archbishop of Lviv of the Latins in the Roman ...

, on 29 September 2007. In March 2011, as the political situation in Libya was becoming violent, he appealed for Italy to accept Eritrean refugees trapped in Libya. He reported that Catholic religious in the country were not in danger as "the Libyan people, as traditionally they have always done, are expressing their gratitude for the presence and service of the women religious and priests. In these days this benevolence is shown with concrete gestures of solidarity". He held his post as Nuncio until his appointment as prelate of the

Territorial Prelature of Pompei The Territorial Prelature of Pompei also called the Territorial Prelature of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Most Holy Rosary ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Pompeianus seu Beatissimae Virginis Mariae a SS.mo Rosario) is a Roman Catholic territori ...

on 10 November 2012. Pope Francis approved his additional appointment to the office of Assessor of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

effective September 2019.

References

;Additional sources *

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caputo, Tommaso Clergy from Naples Apostolic Nuncios to Malta Apostolic Nuncios to Libya 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops 1950 births Living people Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Pontifical Lateran University alumni Diplomats from Naples