Gualtiero Bassetti was born in Popolano di Marradi, near Florence, on 7 April 1942. Ordained a priest on 29 June 1966 in Florence, he spent his first priestly decades forming priests: assistant at the minor seminary (1968), rector of the minor seminary (1972), then rector of the major seminary of Florence for eleven years from 1979, before becoming pro-vicar and vicar general of the archdiocese.
John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Massa Marittima-Piombino on 9 July 1994 (consecrated 8 September 1994 by Cardinal Piovanelli); he moved to Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro in 1998, served as national delegate for Italy's seminaries, and on 16 July 2009 became Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve. Known for standing with workers — he backed the Buitoni factory workers of Sansepolcro threatened with dismissal in 2008 — he was created a cardinal by Francis on 22 February 2014, with the title of Santa Cecilia: the first bishop of Perugia so honoured since Gioacchino Pecci, the future Leo XIII, in 1853. From 2017 to 2022 he was president of the Italian bishops' conference. He retired from Perugia on 27 May 2022.
Consequential Quotes
My aims have not changed. I want to visit factories and hospitals, because as the Pope says, we must be pastors with the odor of sheep. This is the time to roll our sleeves back.
Major Works & Initiatives
President of the Italian bishops
Five years leading the CEI.
Archbishop of Perugia
Thirteen years in Umbria's primatial see.
Forming Florence's priests
Rector of the minor, then major, seminary for two decades.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.