He enthusiastically sings and concelebrates the liturgy.
At first glance, he could just be one of the many dedicated octogenarian priests still helping out in Roman parishes.
But when people learn his actual age, their eyes go wide. Still active at 103, Father Gioele Schiavella is breaking longevity records, just as he set records for his remarkably young age many decades ago. He was ordained a priest at just 22 years old on July 15, 1945.
At the time, Italy was reeling from the humiliation of World War II, facing an urgent need for material, moral, and spiritual reconstruction. These historical circumstances make him one of the few priests in the world to have reached — and surpassed — the milestone of 80 years in the priesthood.
Finding joy in the Lord
However, the humble, almost shy friar avoids the spotlight. He sees his life as a series of responses to God's call, rather than the result of any personal ambition. “All I can say is that I’m very happy with this life! I’ve never lacked anything,” the priest shared simply. Fittingly, his first name, Gioele, means "God is my joy."
“Indeed, the Lord is with me,” the centenarian added with a cheerful smile.
The year 2025 was monumental for him. It marked both the Jubilee of the Catholic Church and his own personal jubilee of priestly ordination. It also saw the election of a pope from his own spiritual family, the Order of Saint Augustine. “Of course, that was a very important moment for me,” Father Gioele noted.
Pope Leo XIV warmly honored him during a pastoral visit to Saint Anne's Parish on September 21. “I want to greet Father Gioele Schiavella, who recently reached the venerable age of 103,” the Pope mentioned at the start of his homily.
A rich but quiet legacy
Born on September 9, 1922, near the start of Pope Pius XI's pontificate, Gioele Schiavella hails from Genazzano. Coincidentally, this small town was Pope Leo XIV's first destination outside Rome on May 10, 2025.
The town is home to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel and an Augustinian community where Father Gioele took his first vows in 1938 at just 16. If he's still alive in 2028, he'll reach the incredibly rare milestone of 90 years in religious life.
He received his formation in Rome in the 1940s and quickly took on leadership roles after his 1945 ordination. In 1948, the provincial chapter named him the provincial secretary. In 1952, he defended a thesis at the Gregorian University on “The morally good act according to Gregory of Rimini,” a 14th-century Augustinian hermit.
A professor of Latin and moral theology, Father Gioele even taught ethics to Italian army officers through courses organized by the country’s Ministry of Defense.
Welcoming popes and guiding students
Within his order, he served as vicar of the prior general in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also the assistant general for Italy and Malta, and later the provincial superior for the province of Rome.
From 1991 to 2006, he served as the pastor of Saint Anne's. In that role, he had the privilege of welcoming both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to his parish. In fact, he celebrated his 70th anniversary of priesthood in July 2015 in the presence of the retired German pope. It's a dizzying historical reality: Benedict XVI, who also “retired” late in life, was actually five years younger than the Augustinian friar!
“Father Gioele continues to participate in the life of the community and to concelebrate certain Masses. He remains very independent,” explained Father Mario Millardi, the current pastor of Saint Anne's, a “young” confrere of Father Gioele at the age of 78.
Known as an excellent preacher and confessor, Father Gioele continued to celebrate Mass on his own and preach homilies until just three years ago, when he turned 100. Some decades earlier, he was a beloved professor whose intellectual charity went so far as giving his own notes to students to help them prep for exams.
Today, he goes about his religious life with a slower, quieter pace, always grounded in the fraternal spirituality of Saint Augustine.