Viola moves from Vatican liturgy office to St. Peter’s Basilica
Pope Leo XIV named Archbishop Vittorio Viola Saturday as the new archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Viola, until now secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, succeeds Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, who was appointed Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Italy, Oct. 3.
Viola, 61, was also entrusted with the two other offices associated with the archpriest of St. Basilica, that of vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St. Peter, the body responsible for the basilica’s conservation and maintenance.
St. Peter’s Basilica has a long association with the Franciscan Family. Since the 18th century, Conventual Franciscans have served as the basilica’s official confessors. Gambetti is a Conventual Franciscan, while Viola belongs to the Order of Friars Minor.
Leo XIV immediately filled the vacancy created by Viola’s transfer to St. Peter’s Basilica Oct. 10, naming Bishop Aurelio García Macías as secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship. The Spanish-born bishop was previously the dicastery’s under-secretary.
Cardinal Arthur Roche, a 76-year-old Englishman, has served
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