A 35-year-old priest killed himself in a town on the Piedmont shore of Lake Maggiore at the weekend, prompting fears of burn-out among young Italian clerics.
Cannobio parish priest Don Matteo Balzano took his own life on Saturday.
He had not recently called for help with his pastoral work, Church sources said.
Theology lecturer Giorgo Ronzoni, a Padua parish priest, said more research was needed on the stresses priests face.
"In 2020," said Ronzoni, "the French bishops courageously published the results of the "study on the health of active priests", without hiding problems such as a certain abuse of alcohol by two-fifths of the clergy.
"In Italy, on the other hand, until now it has been preferred not to undertake research of this magnitude".