Salvatore Micalef, born in a small town in southern Italy in 1974, presents himself as a bishop and primate of an international Catholic prelature called “Saints Peter and Paul.”
Under that guise, he’s organized liturgies which include healings and exorcisms in various parts of the world, including both the famed Marian sanctuary of Fatima in Portugal and in the city of Rome itself.
In fact, there is currently only one personal prelature in the Catholic Church recognized by the Vatican, which is Opus Dei.
Last year, the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima in Portugal distanced itself from so-called “Healing and Liberation” retreats held in hotels near the shrine, with the participation of Micalef.
A statement signed by Father Jorge Guarda, vicar general of the diocese, stated that Micalef “was ordained priest and bishop without a mandate from the Holy Father” and therefore “is not in communion with the Holy See.”
The statement, issued in June 2023, indicated that the case had also been referred to the Vatican.
At the time, a layman who helped organize the healing and exorcism services told Portuguese media that lawyers representing Micalef would sue the diocese if it claimed that he was a “fake” bishop, pointing out that according to Catholic theology, a man who’s ordained to the priesthood and episcopacy by any validly ordained bishop is himself therefore validly ordained, even if the act took place without the authorization of the pope.
The individual who assisted Micalef in Fatima, a young Portuguese layman named Francisco Marques, has a Facebook page in which he displays pictures of himself with Pope Francis. In its statement, the diocese insisted that the photos are “the result of accidental encounters with the Holy Father, in general audiences, and cannot serve to give credibility to an activity that is not in communion with the Church.”
According to the biography of Micalef provided by his self-professed prelature, he was ordained as a bishop in 2014 by two Americans, William Manseau and Peter Paul Brennan, both of whom were part of the “Married Priests Now” movement founded by Milingo, and neither of whom were recognized by the Vatican.
Milingo, a former Archbishop of Lusaka in Zambia, who was removed by Pope John Paul II for performing unauthorized exorcisms and assigned to the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Migrants and Refugees, rose to prominence in Italy during the 1980s and 1990s in part because of his continuing ministry as a healer and exorcist, as well as a highly popular musical CD he released in 1995 under the title of “Gubudu Gubudu.”
Milingo was suspended in 2006 after he married in a ceremony presided over by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church. He later ordained four bishops without the pope’s authorization, resulting in excommunication, and was laicized by the Vatican in 2009.
Earlier this month, the Diocese of Rome issued its own statement on Micalef.
“It is hereby communicated that Mr. Salvatore Micalef, self-styled patriarch and bishop of the Catholic Prelature of SS. Peter and Paul, is not in communion with the Catholic Church and does not possess the ministerial faculties necessary to administer the sacraments,” the statement read.
“As a result, he may not participate in or celebrate the sacraments of the Catholic faith in the territory of the Diocese of Rome,” it said.
One open question about the Micalef case is why it took officials in Rome more than a year to clarify his status after the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima issued its initial statement.
Some observers have suggested that the Vatican and the Diocese of Rome are gearing up vigilance efforts with an eye to next year’s jubilee, which is expected to draw some 35 million pilgrims to Rome, with the concern being that figures such as Micalef may seek to take advantage of those additional visitors by attracting them to unauthorized parallel events, in some cases profiting from the fraud.