Italo Dell’Oro, CRS (born June 20, 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

for the

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in Texas since 2021.

Biography

Early life

Italo Dell’Oro was born on June 20, 1953, in Malgrate, in the province of Lecco, Italy. His parents were Giuseppe Dell'Oro and Silene (Crippa) Dell'Oro. He has two sisters, Michela and Edvige (Edy). His first cousin is Bishop

Adelio Dell'Oro Adelio Dell'Oro is the Italian-born Catholic Bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Biography Early life and education Born on 31 July 1948 in Milan, Italy. His first cousin is Italo Dell'Oro, who is now an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdioces ...

of the Diocese of Karaganda in Kazakhstan. In 1978, Dell'Oro entered the Somascan Fathers seminary in Rome, making his first profession to the congregation. He took his solemn vows to the Somascan Fathers in 1981. and received his

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Bachelor of Sacred Theology (abbreviated STB) is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred by a number o ...

degree in 1982 from the

Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm The Anselmianum, also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm (; ) or simply ''Sant'Anselmo'', is a pontifical university in Rome associated with the Benedictines. It offers courses in philosophy, theology, liturgy, monastic studies, lan ...

in Rome

Priesthood

On September 11, 1982, Dell’Oro was ordained to the priesthood for the

Diocese of Como The Diocese of Como () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It was established in the Fourth Century. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Arch ...

at the Santuario Del Santissimo Crocifisso in

Como, Italy Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

by Bishop Teresio Ferraroni of the

Archdiocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan (; ) 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 long maintained its own Latin liturgical rite usage, the Ambr ...

. Three years after his ordination, Dell'Oro came to the United States to work as a priest assistant at Pine Haven Boys Center in Allenstown, New Hampshire, a school for troubled children operated by the Somascan Fathers. In 1988, he received a Master of Arts degree counseling and

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

from Rivier University in Nashua, New Hampshire. In 1992, Dell'Oro was transferred to Houston,Texas, where he became pastor at Assumption Parish in that city. After eight years as Assumption, he was appointed dean of the Northeast

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

in Houston. This was followed in 2001 by his appointment as vocations director at the Somascan Fathers House of Formation in Houston. Dell'Oro was appointed director of ministry to priests for the archdiocese in 2005, a position he would hold for the next ten years. In 2014, he was elevated to formation director. In 2015, Dell'Oro became vicar for clergy and the secretariat director for clergy formation and chaplaincy services. He was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

in 2021.

Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Dell’Oro as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on May 18, 2021. On July 2, 2021, he was consecrated by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo. Archbishop Franco Moscone was to serve as a co-consecrator but could not travel from Italy to the United States to attend due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

travel restrictions. Bishop

Brendan J. Cahill Brendan John Cahill (born November 28, 1963) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic church, Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria in Texas, Diocese of Victoria in Texas since 2015. ...

served instead as co-consecrator.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dell'Oro, Italo 1953 births Living people People from the Province of Lecco Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre