Mauro Piacenza
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He currently serves as Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
Congregation for the Clergy
The Sacred Congregation for the Clergy is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons not belonging to religious orders...
in the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
on 7 October 2010. He had previously served as Secretary from 2007 until becoming Prefect.
Piacenza was born in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. After studying at the Major Archiepiscopal Seminary of Genoa, he was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Giuseppe Siri on 21 December 1969. He then completed his studies in Rome, attending the Pontifical Lateran University
Pontifical Lateran University
The Pontifical Lateran University is a university by pontifical right based in Rome, Italy. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family...
, where he obtained a doctorate, summa cum laude, in canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
.
After serving as a parochial vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, he worked as chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
to the University of Genoa
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy.Located in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, the university was founded in 1471. It currently has about 40,000 students, 1,800 teaching and research staff and about 1,580 administrative staff.- Campus :The University of Genoa is...
. Piacenza taught canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy, and held several other curial
Curia (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholicism, a curia consists of a group of officials who assist in the governance of a particular Church. These curias range from the relatively simple diocesan curia, to the larger patriarchal curias, to the Roman Curia, which is the central government of the Catholic Church.Other...
posts, serving as the archbishop's press officer. He was the diocesan assistant of the ecclesial Movement of Cultural Commitment. He served as professor of contemporary culture and history of atheism at the Ligurian Higher Institute of Religious Studies as well as professor of dogmatic theology at the Diocesan Institute of Theology for the Lay "Didascaleion". He also taught theology at several state lyceums. He was made a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of the Genoa Cathedral in 1986. Entering the staff of the Congregation for the Clergy in 1990, he was named its Undersecretary
Undersecretary
An under secretary is an executive government official in many countries, frequently a career public servant, who typically acts as a senior administrator or second-in-command to a politically-appointed Cabinet Minister or other government official...
on 11 March 2000.
On 13 October 2003, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
appointed Piacenza President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church
Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church
The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church is an institution within the Roman Catholic Church and the Roman Curia that guardians the historical and artistic patrimony of the entire Church which includes works of art, historical documents, books, everything kept in museums as...
and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Victoriana. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following 15 November from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, SDB
Salesians of Don Bosco
The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...
, with Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos and Bishop Alberto Tanasini serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.
He was later named President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology on 28 August 2004, and then Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy and raised to the rank of archbishop (with the same titular see) on 7 May 2007. He was appointed as Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy on 7 October 2010 replacing Cardinal Hummes. His appointment is unusual as few officials who serve as Secretary are appointed as Prefect of the same dicastery.
In an interview shortly after his appointment as Prefect, Archbishop Piacenza said: "Priestly identity cannot but be Christocentric and hence Eucharistic. Christocentric because, as the Holy Father has often reminded, in the ministerial priesthood 'Christ attracts us to himself', involving himself with us and involving us in His very existence. This 'real' attraction happens sacramentally, hence in an objective and unsurpassable way, in the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, of which the priests are ministers, that is, servants and effective instruments".
On 20 November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
created him Cardinal-Deacon of San Paolo alle Tre Fontane
San Paolo alle Tre Fontane
San Paolo alle Tre Fontane , in English, St Paul at the Three Fountains is a church dedicated to St Paul the Apostle, at the presumed site of his martyrdom in Rome...
and, on 29 December 2010, appointed him a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...
, the Congregation for Catholic Education
Congregation for Catholic Education
The Congregation for Catholic Education is the Pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: seminaries and houses of formation of...
, and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
Pontifical Council for Social Communications
The Pontifical Council for Social Communications is a dicastery of the Roman Curia...
.
In March 2011 in a letter to priests for Lent Cardinal Piacenza said “At times the fatigue is truly great” and priests “feel as if we are too few to fulfil the Churches’ needs”, but “if first we don’t convert ourselves, we will become even fewer”. “A de-Christianized world requires a new evangelization” but this in turn requires “new priests” not in the superficial sense, rather priests who are profoundly “renewed” by the love of Christ at every Holy Mass. Cardinal Piacenza concludes, noting that “only a renewed, converted priest can become an instrument through which the Spirit calls new priests”.