H.E.

Excellency

Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...

 Msgr.

Monsignor

Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...

 Paolo Pezzi, FSCB

Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St.Charles Borromeo

The Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo was founded in Rome in 1985 by Fr. Massimo Camisasca and obtained pontifical recognition in 1999. It started with a group of seven priests and ten seminarians but now holds about one hundred priests...

, also known as Pavel Pezzi, is an Italian prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

 of the Catholic Church, currently serving as Latin Rite Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow (Russian Federation

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

).

Early life and ministry

H.E. Msgr. Paolo Pezzi was born in Russi

Russi

Russi is a comune in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 60 km east of Bologna and about 14 km southwest of Ravenna....

, 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...

 on August 8, 1960. He studied philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 and theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

  at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) 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...

 (1985-1990). He was ordained to the priesthood for the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St.Charles Borromeo

Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St.Charles Borromeo

The Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo was founded in Rome in 1985 by Fr. Massimo Camisasca and obtained pontifical recognition in 1999. It started with a group of seven priests and ten seminarians but now holds about one hundred priests...

 in 1990. He subsequently was awarded a Doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 in Theology (Cattolici in Siberia, le origini, le persecuzioni, l’oggi) by 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...

. He has worked in Russia since 1993. He was rector of the major seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 of Mary Queen of the Apostles in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 (2006).

Episcopacy

On September 21, 2007, Fr. Pezzi, until then rector of the major seminary of Mary Queen of the Apostles in Saint Petersburg, was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 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...

. He replaced the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese, Tadevush Kandrusievich. He was consecrated in the Cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow on October 27, 2007 by Archbishop Kandrusievich, H.E. Msgr. Antonio Mennini

Antonio Mennini

Antonio Mennini is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He serves as the Nuncio to Great Britain from 18 December 2010, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.-Biography:...

, Titular Archbishop of Ferentium and Apostolic nuncio to Russian Federation, and H.E. Msgr. Joseph Werth

Joseph Werth

Bishop Joseph Werth, SJ Иосиф Верт is Bishop of Transfiguration in Novosibirsk .Named as the Latin-rite Apostolic Administrator of Siberia - a see that encompassed 4.2 million square miles and extends through nine of the world's twenty four time zones - by Pope John Paul II on April 13, 1991, Werth...

, S.J.

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

, Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of the Diocese of Transfiguration at Novosibirsk.

See also

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow