Archbishop of Siracusa
Archbishop Francesco Lomanto, Archbishop of Siracusa, was born on March 2, 1962, in Mussomeli, in the province and Diocese of Caltanissetta. He prepared for the priesthood at the diocesan seminary and was ordained a priest for Caltanissetta on June 29, 1986. He served as assistant parish priest at Villalba, San Cataldo and Caltanissetta (1986-1996) and as parish priest of Sant'Enrico at Mussomeli (1996-2011). Having obtained a licentiate and a doctorate in church history from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he began university teaching at Caltanissetta in 1992, lecturing in the theological institutes there and at the San Giovanni Evangelista Pontifical Theological Faculty of Sicily in Palermo, of which he has been dean since 2015. His academic work fostered a particular interest in the figures and events of the local church of Caltanissetta, and he is the author, co-author or editor of numerous books, essays, historical reviews and dictionaries. On July 24, 2020, he was appointed Archbishop of Siracusa. He received episcopal ordination on October 24, 2020, at Siracusa, with Mario Russotto as principal consecrator and Salvatore Pappalardo and Salvatore Gristina as co-consecrators.