Pope Francis appoints a Venezuelan new auxiliary bishop of Rome

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by archyw
May 31, 2022
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Caracas.- The Holy Father has appointed three new auxiliary bishops for the diocese of Rome, Italy, of which he is the titular bishop. One of them is the priest Riccardo Lamba, of the clergy of Rome, currently parish priest in the church of San Ponziano, assigning him the titular See of Medeli. The designation was made by Pope Francis on Friday, May 27.

Lamba, 66, was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He returned with his family to Italy in 1965, where he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome on May 6, 1986, reports the Catholic News Agency (ACN). In 1984 he entered the Seminary, after graduating as a doctor and psychologist.

The Catholic news agency Zenit highlighted the importance of the appointment of the three bishops, noting that the diocese of Rome has several peculiarities: the first is that it is the only one in which the cardinals elect the bishop. “That happens in a conclave. The Pope is not elected, the Bishop of Rome is elected who will consequently be the Pope”, he points out.

Likewise, the Catholic portal highlights that since the Pope cannot directly exercise the shepherding of his diocese, this function is delegated to a cardinal vicar, who is supported by some auxiliary bishops.

The Venezuelan Riccardo Lamba was an assistant at the Pontifical Major Roman Seminary between 1989 and 1991. He also worked as an assistant at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart between 1991 and 2000. Later, from 2000 to 2002, he was parish priest of S. Anselmo alla Cecchignola, and from 2002 to 2018, of Gesù Divino Lavoratore, review the Catholic media.