Archbishop of Alba Iulia
Archbishop Dr. Gergely Kovács, Apostolic Administrator for the Armenian Catholic faithful, was born on July 21, 1968, in Kézdivásárhely (in the Háromszék region). He completed his secondary education in his hometown in 1986 and subsequently studied at the Roman Catholic Theological College of Gyulafehérvár. From 1990, he was a student at the Pontifical German-Hungarian College in Rome, obtaining a baccalaureate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1992. He was ordained a priest in 1993. He pursued further studies in canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University, earning a licentiate in 1994 and a doctorate in 1996. Afterward, he served as an assistant priest in Marosvásárhely. In 1997, he began working at the Pontifical Council for Culture, where he was responsible for German-speaking regions as well as Central and Eastern Europe, and served as editor of the publication *Culture e Fede* (Cultures and Faith). In 2000, he was honored with the title of Chaplain of His Holiness. From 2004, he served as Head of Office at the Pontifical Council for Culture. He was an external collaborator for the Congregation for the Clergy, the Roman Rota, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; served as pastor to Hungarian-speaking believers in Florence and Tuscany; and acted as the postulator for the canonization causes of Bishops Áron Márton and János Hám, as well as the martyr Magdolna M. Bódi. Pope Francis appointed him to lead the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gyulafehérvár on December 24, 2019. His episcopal ordination and installation as archbishop took place in Gyulafehérvár on February 22, 2020, the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.