The Military Ordinariate in Italy is a military ordinariate

Military ordinariate

A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, of Latin or Eastern Rite, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation....

 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...

. Immediately subject to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, it provides pastoral care

Pastoral care

Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...

 to Roman Catholics serving in the Italian Armed Forces

Military of Italy

The Italian armed forces are the military of Italy, they are under the command of the Italian Supreme Council of Defence, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The total number of active military personnel is 293,202...

 and their families.

History

It was established as a military vicariate on 6 March 1925, but the first military vicar was not appointed until 23 April 1929. It was elevated to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986. The Episcopal seat

Cathedra

A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...

 is located at the Church of St. Catharine of Siena in Magnanapoli (Chiesa Principale di Santa Catarina da Siena a Magnanapoli) in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Italy

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...

.

Military vicars

• Angelo Bartolomasi (appointed 23 April 1929 – retired 1944)
• Carlo Alberto Ferrero di Cavallerleone (appointed 28 October 1944 – resigned 4 November 1953)
• Arrigo Pintonello (appointed 4 November 1953 – appointed Apostolic Administrator
  Apostolic Administrator
  An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
  
   of Velletri
  Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni
  The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni is one of the suburbicarian dioceses, Catholic dioceses in Italy close to Rome with a special status and a Cardinal Bishop, the bishop of Velletri-Segni. Historically, the see of Velletri was combined with the see of Ostia from 1105 to...
  
   1 May 1965)
• Luigi Maffeo (appointed 16 January 1966 – died 7 May 1971)
• Mario Schierano (appointed 28 August 1971 – resigned 27 October 1981)
• Gaetano Bonicelli (appointed 28 October 1981 – became Military Ordinary
  Ordinary
  In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
  
   21 July 1986)

Military ordinaries

• Gaetano Bonicelli (appointed 21 July 1986 – translated to the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino
  The Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino is a Roman Catholic archdiocese in Tuscany. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Siena.-Bishops of Siena:* Lucifer † * Florianus †...
  
   14 November 1989)
• Giovanni Marra (appointed 14 November 1989 – resigned 31 January 1996)
• Giuseppe Mani
  Giuseppe Mani
  -Early life and ordination:He was ordained a priest on 12 March 1960 and began his ministry at the Diocese of Fiesole.-Bishop:On 29 October 1987 he became the Auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rome and he received the Holy Order on 7 December 1987 by Cardinal Ugo Poletti. He became Military...
  
   (appointed 31 January 1996 – translated to the Archdiocese of Cagliari
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cagliari
  The Archdiocese of Cagliari is a Roman Catholic archdiocese centred on the city of Cagliari. It holds the Primacy of Sardinia.-History:Legend relates how a disciple of Jesus Christ, one Bonifatius, preached the Gospel in Cagliari in the 1st century...
  
   20 June 2003)
• Angelo Bagnasco
  Angelo Bagnasco
  Angelo Bagnasco is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archbishop of Genoa and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference , and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007....
  
   (appointed 20 June 2003 – translated to the Archdiocese of Genoa
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Genoa
  The Archdiocese of Genoa is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy.Erected in the third century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133...
  
   29 August 2006)
• Vincenzo Pelvi (current incumbent, appointed 14 October 2006)