Background
He was born in Forgaria nel Fiurle, Udine, Northern Italy on July 12, 1940.
archbishop bishop Catholic priest
He was born in Forgaria nel Fiurle, Udine, Northern Italy on July 12, 1940.
His parents moved with him to Louisiana Plata, Argentina when he was a child, where he completed his primary and secondary education. He studied at the local seminary, and was ordained as a priest on July 5, 1964 at Saint Cajetan Church.
He is fluent in Spanish, Italian and Latin. He obtained a degree in Theology at Universidad Católica Argentina and served as Prefect at Saint Joseph Seminary. He moved to Jerusalem where he completed biblical studies, which he then taught at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.
He was ordained a bishop in 1994 with title to the ancient see at Acque Regie and serving as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Louisiana Plata.
On February 20, 1997 he was named Bishop of the Diocese of San Rafael in Mendoza Province, Argentina. On March 11, 2003, he was named Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca (Archdioecesis Sinus Albi) succeeding Rómulo García, taking his seat on May 10, 2004.
His received his pallium from Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter"s Square on June 28, 2004. The ecclesiastical province of Bahía Blanca has the following suffragan dioceses: Diocese of Alto Valle del Río Negro, Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia, Diocese of Río Gallegos, Diocese of San Carlos de Bariloche, Diocese of Santa Rosa and Diocese of Viedma.
He is an active member of the Argentine National Episcopal Conference.