Pope Francis nominated Bishop Giacomo Morandi as secretary, the “number 2,” of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 18, 2017. The Italian prelate, age 51, was until now, the undersecretary (No. 3) of the same dicastery since October 2015.
Bishop Morandi, who also receives the dignity of archbishop with this appointment, takes the former post of Spanish Jesuit Monsignor Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, who was appointed prefect of the Congregation on July 1.
Born in Modena on Aug. 24, 1965, Bishop Giacomo Morandi was ordained a priest on April 11, 1990. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the Pontifical Institute of Rome in 1992 and a PhD in Evangelism Theology (Missiology) at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University in 2008.
After various parish services, he was appointed episcopal vicar for catechesis, evangelization, culture, then archpriest of the Cathedral Chapter and finally vicar general of the Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola.
The new secretary of the CDF also has served as professor of Scripture and of patristic exegesis in Modena and Rome.
