The Archbishop of Sassari, Monsignor Gianfranco Saba , has been appointed the new Military Ordinary for Italy by Pope Francis . He succeeds Ser Monsignor Santo Marcianò, who has led the Military Ordinariate since 2013 and is approaching his 65th birthday, and therefore retirement.

The official appointment, according to what is reported by the Catholic information site “Silere non possum”, should take place in the next few hours , an assignment which, if confirmed, would mean for Monsignor Saba to leave the leadership of the archdiocese of Sassari.

The 56-year-old archbishop, originally from Olbia, was appointed in 2017, a career that began in 1993 when he was ordained a priest. He has since held various positions within the church on the island.

His transfer to the Military Ordinariate represents an important step towards change within an ecclesial sphere considered by many to be the "refugium peccatorum" of the Italian church. It is a personal ecclesiastical district, equivalent to a diocese, established to offer spiritual assistance to Italian soldiers and their families.

Led by an ordinary bishop, the Ordinariate takes care of the faithful belonging to the armed forces, also engaged abroad, and also promotes the moral and religious formation of military personnel , accompanying them in important moments of life such as peacekeeping missions, health emergencies, offering support to the families of the fallen.

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