BISHOP PAOLO MARTINELLI

His Excellency Bishop Paolo Martinelli OFM Cap. was born on 22 October 1958 in Milan, Italy. At the age of twenty, he joined the Capuchin order and made his religious profession on 8 September 1980. 

He studied theology in Milan (1980-1985) and was ordained a priest on 7 September 1985. He studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University (1988-1993) where he obtained a licentiate in fundamental theology (1990) and subsequently a doctorate in theology (1993) with a thesis on the thought of Hans Urs von Balthasar.

He was a member of the faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (since 1992) and at the Pontifical University of Antonianum (since 1993), where he was also the Dean of the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality (2004-2014). 

Since 2006, he was also the Consultor of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, since 2009 the Consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. Since 2012, he has been a Consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

On 24 May 2014, the Holy Father Pope Francis appointed Msgr. Martinelli, auxiliary bishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan and titular bishop of Musti di Numidia. He was ordained bishop in the Cathedral in Milan on 28 June 2014. He chose as his episcopal motto, “Gloria Dei vivens homo” (The glory of God is man fully Alive). In the Archdiocese of Milan, he has been the Episcopal Vicar for Consecrated Life since 2018. 

Monsignor Paolo Martinelli is also a member of the Italian Bishops Conference since 2015 and was elected the President of the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Consecrated Life of the conference in 2021. 

Bishop Martinelli has also authored and edited several books and articles on spiritual theology and the various vocations in the Church.