16 Facts About Gualtiero Bassetti

Gualtiero Bassetti was born on 7 April 1942 and is an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve from 2009 to 2022.

Gualtiero Bassetti has been a bishop since 1994 and was made a cardinal in 2014.

Gualtiero Bassetti was president of the Italian Episcopal Conference from 2017 to 2022.

Gualtiero Bassetti was born on 7 April 1942 in Popolano di Marradi.

Gualtiero Bassetti attended the minor and major seminary of the archdiocese of Florence and was ordained a priest on 29 June 1966 in Florence.

Gualtiero Bassetti served as vicar in the parish of St Michael in San Salvi.

Gualtiero Bassetti served there for 11 years and was then appointed pro-vicar and vicar general of the archdiocese.

Gualtiero Bassetti was named bishop of Arezzo on 21 November 1998.

Gualtiero Bassetti was named the archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve on 16 July 2009.

Gualtiero Bassetti was elected head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Umbria in 2012 and was appointed deputy president of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

On 22 February 2014, Bassetti was raised to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis.

Gualtiero Bassetti's selection was seen, according to John L Allen, as a demonstration of Francis' preference for "traditionally neglected locales" and for "political moderates".

Gualtiero Bassetti has celebrated Mass in Latin using the Missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962 and delivered homilies at such liturgies.

Gualtiero Bassetti's name was one of three presented to the Pope by the Conference membership and the one who had received the most votes from them.

Gualtiero Bassetti said he planned to end the practice of beginning the annual meeting with the president's address and would instead conclude the meeting by summarizing their debate and "seeking a point of equilibrium".

Gualtiero Bassetti spoke of the need to integrate migrants into Italian society, implying support for citizenship for those born in Italy.