Pope Leo XIV Moves Cardinal Gambetti to Chieti-Vasto, Leaves St. Peter's Archpriest Post Vacant
Pope Leo XIV has named Cardinal Mauro Gambetti as archbishop of the central Italian Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto, succeeding Archbishop Bruno Forte, but has not yet named a new archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Leo XIV has named Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, who has served for more than five years as archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica and the pope's vicar for Vatican City, as archbishop of the central Italian Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto. The Vatican announced the appointment on Oct. 3, confirming that Cardinal Gambetti will succeed Archbishop Bruno Forte, whose resignation the pope accepted.
Notably, the pope did not immediately name a successor as archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, leaving one of the Vatican's most visible pastoral and administrative posts vacant for the time being. The current vicar of the archpriest, Italian Bishop Calogero La Piana, helps oversee the basilica and its operations.
Cardinal Gambetti, a Conventual Franciscan, was created a cardinal in 2020 by the late Pope Francis. Before his 2021 appointment as archpriest, he served as general custos of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis of Assisi. As archpriest, the Italian prelate oversaw the daily administration of St. Peter's Basilica and presided over liturgies when the pope was not present.
He also served as president of the Fabric of St. Peter, the Vatican office responsible for maintaining the basilica complex. According to Pope Francis' apostolic constitution «Praedicate Evangelium» on the reform of the Roman Curia, the Fabric of St. Peter's «deals with everything that concerns the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter,» which includes «the conservation and decorum of the building, and the internal discipline» of staff, pilgrims and visitors.
Among the projects Cardinal Gambetti oversaw during his tenure was the restoration of the nearly 100-foot-tall baldachin towering over the basilica's main altar, designed more than 400 years ago by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The appointment marks a significant transition for the Vatican's most important basilica, as the archpriest plays a central role in the spiritual and practical life of the site that draws millions of pilgrims and visitors each year.
The decision to move Cardinal Gambetti to Chieti-Vasto, a diocese in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, places an experienced Vatican administrator at the head of a local church. The pope's choice not to name a new archpriest immediately leaves the basilica's leadership in the hands of Bishop La Piana, who continues as vicar of the archpriest.
The Fabric of St. Peter, which Cardinal Gambetti led, remains responsible for the conservation and decorum of the basilica building and for the internal discipline of the staff, pilgrims and visitors who pass through its doors. The restoration of Bernini's baldachin, a landmark of Baroque art and a focal point of the basilica's main altar, was among the most prominent projects of his tenure.
Cardinal Gambetti's move to Chieti-Vasto follows the resignation of Archbishop Bruno Forte, a noted theologian who had led the archdiocese. The Vatican's announcement did not indicate when a new archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica might be named, leaving open a question that will shape the next phase of the basilica's administration.
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