Bishop Orazio Francesco Piazza

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Viterbo presented by H.E. Msgr. Lino Fumagalli and has appointed H.E. Msgr. Orazio Francesco Piazza as Bishop of the same Diocese, transferring him from the Diocese of Sessa Aurunca. H.E. Msgr. Orazio Francesco Piazza, Bishop of Viterbo, was born on October 4, 1953, in Solopaca, in the Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant’Agata de’ Goti (Benevento). He attended the Pontifical Regional Seminary "Pius XI" and the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy (Saint Aloysius Section in Naples), studying Philosophy and Theology. He subsequently obtained a Licentiate and a Doctorate in Dogmatic Theology from the same Faculty. He was ordained a priest on June 25, 1978, for the Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant’Agata de’ Goti. He held the following positions: Parish Vicar of Telese Terme (1978–1981); Rector of the Church of the Most Holy Body of Christ in Solopaca (1981–1992) and of the Shrine of Mary Most Holy of the Roseto in Solopaca (1988–1992); Diocesan Chaplain for Catholic Action (1989–2013); Episcopal Vicar for Evangelization and Witness (2002–2013); Regional Chaplain for Catholic Action (1998–2013); Member of the College of Consultors and the Presbyteral Council, Canon Theologian of the Cathedral, Magistral Chaplain of the Military Order of Malta, and Knight serving as Prior of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre; Lecturer in Social Ethics at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Sannio in Benevento (1997–2013); and Founder and Director (in 2004) of the Bachelet Social Studies Center. Full Professor of Ecclesiology at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy (San Luigi Section, Naples). On June 25, 2013, he was appointed Bishop of Sessa Aurunca, receiving episcopal ordination on September 21, 2013, in Telese Terme. He is a member of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Within the Italian Episcopal Conference, he is a member of the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith, Proclamation, and Catechesis.