Vincenzo Paglia

Paglia was born in Boville Ernica, Frosinone, Italy. He was educated at the Pontifical Roman Minor and Major Seminary. He earned a Licentiate in Philosophy and a degree in Theology from the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome. He also earned a master's degree in Pedagogy from the University of Urbino, Italy. As a student in 1968, he was one of the co-founders of the Community of Sant'Egidio, an association of lay Catholics.

He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Rome on 15 March 1970 and served as a curate in Casal Palocco from 1970 to 1973. Later, he was rector of the Church of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere. From 1981 to 2000, he was the pastor of the Basilica parish of Santa Maria in Trastevere. There in 1982, he initiated the annual Christmas lunch (Pranzo di Natale) for the homeless and the poor, a project of the Community of Sant'Egidio held inside the church.[2]

He was the first priest to enter Albania after the elections in March and April 1991. He successfully negotiated the re-opening of the seminary and the return of the cathedral, and he paved the way for relations between Albania and the Holy See.

On 4 March 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia. He received episcopal consecration from Cardinal Camillo Ruini on 2 April and took possession of the diocese on 16 April.

In September 2002, John Paul named him President of the Catholic Biblical Federation.[3]

From 2004 to 2009, he was chairman of the Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue of the Italian Episcopal Conference, and from 2009 until 2012 he was president of the Episcopal Conference of Umbria. As President of the Conference of Bishops of Umbria, he promoted the Solidarity Fund, an initiative that provides economic support for families particularly affected by the recent economic crisis.

He was ecclesiastical advisor of the Community of Sant'Egidio.[4]

In December 2010, the town of Narnia sold a castle to an Italian investment group whose head was also a financial officer of Paglia's diocese. A government investigation into the transaction found Paglia had not been involved.[5]

On 6 January 2011, he was named one of the first members, for a five-year renewable term, of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.[6]

He has been responsible for inter-religious dialogue and has opposed a cooling of relations with Jewish leaders.[7] He was also the postulator of the cause of beatification of Mgr. Oscar Romero[8][9] and wore his pectoral cross that had been donated to Paglia by Mgr. Ricardo Urioste, the Romero's auxiliary bishop.[10]

On 26 June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named him President of the Pontifical Council for the Family and raised him to the rank of archbishop.[11]

In February 2013, he noted in an interview that homosexual couples should be safe from unjust discrimination in countries where homosexual acts are illegal.[12] He later said that he was not suggesting a change in church doctrine and that he was restating the official teaching of the Church.[13]

As the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, he was responsible for the Church's triennial World Meeting of Families.[14]

His tenure as head of the Pontifical Council on the Family ended when that department's functions were taken over by the new Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life on 1 September 2016.

On 15 August 2016, Pope Francis named him President of the Pontifical Academy for Life and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family,[15][16] later renamed the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences.[17] His appointment was part of Pope Francis' reform of the Roman Curia, timed to coincide with the erection of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. Francis gave the Institute greater autonomy by setting aside the Institute's statute that made the grand chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University its grand chancellor as well,[15] anticipating his revision of the Institute's statues released in September 2017.[17] He authored a mission statement urging Paglia to "aid families to live their vocation in today's world" by promoting "the perspective of mercy", knowing that "even in theological study, the pastoral perspective and attention to the wounds of humanity never fail".[18]

On 19 September 2016, he presided and delivered the homily at the funeral of former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. A longtime friend of Ciampi, he described bringing Pope Francis' blessing to him on his deathbed.[19][20]

In 2023 speaking at the Perugia Journalism Festival on “The last journey (towards the end of life),” Archbishop Paglia said the Catholic Church “does not have a package of prêt-à-porter, a pre-packaged truth as if it were a distributor of truth pills.” He said how “Personally, I would not practice assisted suicide, but I understand that legal mediation can constitute the greatest common good concretely possible in the conditions in which we find ourselves,” [21]

On Humane Vitae he said how "the recognition of the unbreakable connection between married love and generation in Humanae Vitae does not mean that every marital act must necessarily bear fruit."[22] He added how "We are facing epochal challenges. In the Sixties, the 'pill' was considered a total evil. Today, we face even greater dangers. All human life is at risk if we don’t stop spiralling conflict, the arms race, if we don’t stop destroying the environment".

• "Vescovo emerito Vincenzo Paglia". Diocese of Terni. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021.
• Ivereigh, Austen (18 July 2017). "Head of Vatican's Academy of Life: Dialogue is love, not compromise". Crux.
• Paglia, Vincenzo (6 June 2017). "Archbishop Paglia Lays Out His Vision for the Pontifical Academy for Life". National Catholic Register (Interview). Interviewed by Edward Pentin.
• "Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia". Catholic Hierarchy.