Matteo Maria Zuppi (born 11 October 1955) is an Italian prelate and the Archbishop of Bologna as of 12 December 2015.

He was born on 11 October 1955 in Rome. He studied at the seminary in Palestrina and earned his degree in theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He earned a doctorate at the Sapienza University of Rome, writing his thesis in the history of Christianity.

He was ordained a priest on 9 May 1981.

He has worked with the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic lay association devoted to ecumenism and conflict resolution. He participated with several colleagues in negotiations that helped end the civil war in Mozambique in 1992 and was made an honorary citizen of that country.

On 31 January 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named him an Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rome and titular bishop of Villa Nova. He was ordained a bishop on 14 April 2012 by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome. He was the auxiliary responsible for the city center, including the Trastevere neighborhood where Sant'Egidio is headquartered. There he has led efforts to improve care for the poor and the elderly and developed outreach programs for drug addicts and gypsies.

Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of Bologna on 27 October 2015.

[September 2016]

Source: wikipedia