Fabio Baggio was born in Bassano del Grappa on 15 January 1965 and entered the Scalabrini-Tirondola Seminary of the Missionaries of St Charles in 1976, aged eleven. He made his perpetual vows in 1991 and was ordained a priest on 11 July 1992. A doctorate in church history from the Pontifical Gregorian University followed in 1998.
His priesthood was spent with people on the move. In Santiago de Chile (1995–1997) he was a counsellor to the Chilean bishops' migration commission, INCAMI; he then directed the Migration Department of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires until 2001, also serving from 1999 as national secretary of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Argentina. In the Philippines he directed the Scalabrini Migration Center in Quezon City and the Asian Pacific Migration Journal, and from 2013 he was full professor and president of the Scalabrini International Migration Institute in Rome.
On 14 December 2016 Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; in 2022 Francis confirmed him with responsibility for the Migrants and Refugees Section and Special Projects. Created cardinal on 7 December 2024, he was appointed Pro-Prefect of the dicastery by Pope Leo XIV on 30 June 2026, effective 1 September 2026.
Consequential Quotes
Our shared response may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate. This is part of a common action that should be actively promoted by all the local Churches.
The only reasonable response to the challenges of contemporary migrations is one of solidarity and mercy.
In the Catholic church nobody is a stranger and everybody is welcome.
The Global Compacts are not a resolution, a binding document. Signing them in December will only be a first step in helping migrants.
The climate crisis has a human face.
Major Works & Initiatives
Director, Department for Migration, Archdiocese of Buenos Aires
Led the archdiocese's migration office, also serving from 1999 as national secretary of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Argentina.
Director, Scalabrini Migration Center, Quezon City; Asian Pacific Migration Journal
Directed the Scalabrini Migration Center in the Philippines and was responsible for its migration journal.
Twenty Action Points for the Global Compacts
Action points on migrants and refugees prepared by his Migrants and Refugees Section and approved by Pope Francis, which he promoted to local Churches and governments.
Pastoral Orientations on Climate Displaced People
Orientations produced jointly by the Migrants and Refugees Section and the Integral Ecology Sector, which he presented at the Vatican.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.