Pope Benedict XVI appointed the Apostolic Nuncio in Malta, Archbishop
Tommaso Caputo, as Archbishop of Pompei and Pontifical Delegate for the
Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompei.
Archbishop Paul Cremona and Bishop Mario Grech congratulated Caputo
for this new sign of trust which has been shown in him by Pope Benedict
XVI.
The Bishops thanked him for the five years of good and faithful
service, and for the constant support he has given to the Church in
Malta and Gozo. They promise their prayers to accompany him in this new
mission as a spiritual shepherd of the Archdiocese of Pompei.
Tommaso Caputo, 62, who hails from Naples, was ordained priest in
1974. After some years of pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Naples, he
entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, working in the
Apostolic Nunciature in Rwanda, in the Philippines and in Venezuela.
Subsequently, from 1989, he worked in the Secretariat of State, while
in 1993, Pope John Paul II appointed him Chief of Protocol.
On 3 September
2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Caputo Apostolic Nuncio to
Malta and to Libya, at the same time assigning him the titular see of
Otricoli.
On 29 September 2007, Pope Benedict XVI ordained him
archbishop in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Following these last five years of service as Apostolic Nuncio in
Malta and Libya, Archbishop Tommaso Caputo will be embarking on a new
mission as the Archbishop-Prelate of Pompei and as the Pontifical
Delegate for the shrine of Pompei which was founded by Blessed Bartolo
Longo in the 19th century.
This shrine dedicated to Our Lady
possesses a long history of devotion, mission and evangelization through
the prayer of the Rosary.
Bartolo Longo, a lawyer who underwent an experience of profound
conversion in his life, was the moving force behind the beginnings of
the Marian devotion in Pompei, as well as the founder of several
charities for orphans, children, migrants and drug addicts.
In his new
role, Archbishop Caputo, as Shepherd of the local Church of Pompei, will
be responsible for the pastoral life of this Archdiocese, as well as
the devotional and charitable activities associated with the Shrine of
Pompei.