MSGR. BATTISTA RICCA APPOINTED INTERIM PRELATE OF IOR

Vatican City, 15 June 2013 (VIS) – In a declaration published this morning, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Press Office of the Holy See, made it known that: “The Commission of Cardinals for oversight of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), with the approval of the Holy Father, has appointed 'ad interim' Msgr. Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca as Prelate of the Institute.”

“In his capacity as prelate, Msgr. Battista Ricca will act as secretary of the meetings of the Cardinals’ Commission and will attend meetings of the Board of Superintendence in accordance with the Institute’s statutes.”

“Msgr. Battista Ricca, who was born in Offlaga in the province of Brescia, Italy, in 1956, is part of the Diplomatic Service, serving in the First Section of the Secretariat of State. He is also Director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI, the Domus Romana Sacerdotalis, and the Casa San Benedetto.”

“As can be recalled, he succeeds Archbishop Piero Pioppo, currently Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, who held the post from 2006 to 2010.”

“With the appointment of Mr. Ernst von Freyberg as President of the Institute and of Msgr. Battista Ricca as its prelate, the Cardinals’ Commission has filled the two important positions that are provided for in the statutes of the IOR, which had been vacant for some time. Msgr. Battista Ricca’s appointment is effective immediately.”