Fr. Giordano Piccinotti appointed new President of Apsa

By Vatican News

Pope Francis has appointed 48-year-old Salesian priest, Fr Giordano Piccinotti as the new president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (Apsa). The former Apsa Under Secretary succeeds Bishop Nunzio Galantino who has headed Apsa for the past five years and who turned 75 on 16 August.

Fr Piccinotti was born on 23 February 1975 in Manerbio, in the northern Italian province of Brescia. On 12 September 2004, he made his perpetual profession in the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco and was ordained a priest on 17 June 2006. He holds a Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome. He is the Director of the “Opera Don Bosco nel Mondo” Foundation based in Lugano, Switzerland; procurator of the “Istituto Elvetico Opera Don Bosco” Foundation, also in Lugano; executive director of the “Opera Don Bosco” onlus Foundation in Milan; member of the Council of the “Stiftung Don Bosco in Der Welt in Schaan”, Liechtenstein; treasurer of the Board of Directors of the NGO, VIS. The Pope had appointed him Under Secretary of Apsa in January this year.

"At the end of my five-year mandate," Bishop Galantino told Vatican Media, "I thank the good Lord and Pope Francis for the experience I have had in a field that is rather on the margins, if not extraneous, to my usual commitments: that of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. The constant trust placed in me and the competent dedication of all my collaborators have allowed me to carry out the mission entrusted to me, after the fine five-year period spent in the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) as Secretary General".

“A lot of expectations have always been placed on Apsa,” the prelate observed, “and from many quarters. Sometimes they were even exaggerated.  Answers can only be given (…) when we work together. And I have had the experience of working together and with generosity. I feel a duty of gratitude to everyone. From those who welcomed me at the beginning of my mandate to those who have stood by me in recent years".

“In these last few years, commitments have increased,” he emphasised, “going even beyond ordinary administration. Starting with the Motu Proprio with which the Holy Father transferred some competencies of the Secretariat of State to Apsa, in terms of administration. A great commitment was required for the (unfortunately) much-publicized investment in London and the 'rescue' of the Fatebenefratelli-Isola Tiberina Hospital".

“I am happy,” Bishop Galantino said, “that to continue and develop the commitment and mission of Apsa, the Pope has chosen a person who has competence and great love for the Church. He already knows the reality and the people well. And this is a great advantage. For everyone. I am also happy,” he concluded, “that the changeover comes on the heels of the positive results of the Pwc audit on Apsa’s solidity”.