On Saturday afternoon, Renato Tarantelli Baccari (48) received the episcopal consecration required for the office of vice regent in Rome's Lateran Basilica.
This makes him the official deputy of Cardinal Vicar Baldassare Reina (54), who in turn represents the Pope as Bishop of Rome.
As vice-regent, Tarantelli Baccari coordinates the administration of the diocese; as auxiliary bishop, he is responsible for the southern region of the diocese.
Reina was consecrated bishop in the presence of Pope Francis, together with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn from Vienna and Auxiliary Bishop Michele Di Tolve from Rome.
In October, Pope Francis appointed Reina and Tarantelli Baccari to the two leadership positions of his diocese.
This was preceded by a months-long struggle to find suitable personnel - not unimportant for the recently opened pilgrimage event Holy Year 2025 with over 30 million expected visitors, in which the structures and people of the local diocese will inevitably play a major role.
The Pope had already restructured Italy's second-largest diocese with around 2.6 million Catholics and 330 priests at the beginning of 2023.