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Pope Leo XIV accepted Saturday the resignation of the Italian archbishop who has served as the de facto leader of Russia’s Catholic community for almost 20 years.
The Vatican announced May 2 that the pope had approved the resignation of Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, F.S.C.B., as head of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow.
The move raised eyebrows because Pezzi is only 65 years old — meaning he could have served another 10 years before reaching the standard retirement age for diocesan bishops.
As well as accepting Pezzi’s resignation, Pope Leo named the Russia-born auxiliary Bishop Nicolai Dubinin, O.F.M. Conv., as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.
Those are the plain facts, but do we know anything more about the leadership transition in Moscow? Before we answer that, let’s take a brief look at the archdiocese’s history and Pezzi’s tenure.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow. Credit: Alexxx1979/wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0.The birth of an archdiocese
The Catholic presence in Moscow dates back to the 14th century, when the city was ruled by princes. But the Catholic Church’s longstanding pastoral structures in Moscow were demolished following the Russian Revolution in 1917.
The city hosted a 1923 show
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