Today Fr Matteo Zuppi, Church Assistant of the Community of Sant’Egidio and Parish Priest of the Church of St Simon and St Judas Thaddeus in the district of Torre Angela in Rome, was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rome by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, who assigned him the Titular Episcopal See of Villanova. Matteo Zuppi was born in Rome in 1955, and has been a member of the Community of Sant’Egidio since his youth. For more than 10 years he was Parish Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere. His name is linked to the commitment to build peace in Africa, and particularly to the negotiations leading to the peace in Mozambique in 1992, exactly twenty years ago.

The Community of Sant’Egidio expresses its satisfaction and joy for this appointment, and conveys its best wishes to the newly appointed bishop, a person indeed well-known for his love and dedication to the city of Rome.