Bishop of Cruzeiro do Sul
Flavio Giovenale, S.D.B., was born on June 5, 1954, in Murello, in the Archdiocese of Turin (Italy). He attended primary school at the Salesian Institute in Peveragno, where he also began his secondary education, completing it at the Salesian Institute in Beirut, Lebanon. He studied philosophy in Brazil at the Salesian Institute in Lorena and theology at the "Pio XI" Salesian Institute in São Paulo. He also obtained a Licentiate in Spirituality from the Salesian University in Rome. He made his first religious profession on September 8, 1971, and was ordained a priest in Murello on December 20, 1981. During his priestly ministry, he held the following positions: head of vocational pastoral care in the State of Pará, and specifically in the Archdiocese of Belém; rector of the Salesian Minor and Major Seminary in Manaus; director of the Salesian Formation Center; treasurer and secretary of the Salesian Province of the Amazon; and missionary procurator for Brazil. On October 8, 1997, he was appointed Bishop of Abaetetuba and received episcopal ordination on the following December 8. As a bishop, he served as President (2007–2011) and subsequently as Secretary (from 2011) of the "Norte II" Region of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference. Since November 2011, the prelate has served as President of Caritas Brazil.