The archbishop emeritus of Sassari , 80-year-old Monsignor Paolo Atzei, originally from Oristano, is taken ill and is hospitalized in serious condition at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

On Friday 16 September he had been struck by a cerebral ischemia while he was making confessions in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The friars of the Franciscan community of the church of Santa Maria in Betlem in Sassari pray for him: “Let us intensify our prayer, entrusting our dear brother to the Lord, to the Virgin of the Assumption and to the intercession of Blessed Zirano. To date, his conditions are stable but serious ".

Archbishop emeritus and former bishop of Tempio, Father Atzei assumed the leadership of the archdiocese of Sassari on October 31, 2004, ending his service on June 27, 2017, when Pope Francis accepted his resignation after having reached the age limit . He was succeeded by Monsignor Gianfranco Saba, the current archbishop.

"From the hospital he addresses an affectionate greeting to all those who are praying for him - add the Franciscans - we remain in communion of prayer with him".

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