Antonino Raspanti

Antonino Raspanti (Alcamo, 20 June 1959) is an Italian Bishop of the Catholic Church; he has been the Bishop of Acireale since 26 July 2011.

Biography Born in Alcamo (province of Trapani) into a family of practicing Catholics, he attended the Classical Lyceum of his town, obtaining a diploma in 1977, before entering the Seminary of Trapani.

As the acting president of the Fondazione Città del Fanciullo, Bishop Raspanti has also assisted in the creation of the Ecomuseum of sky and earth, which is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Acireale, in the municipality of Randazzo, Gruppo di Azione Locale Terre dell’Etna e dell’Alcantara, Ente Parco Fluviale dell’Alcantara, Associazione culturale Cento Campanili and Fondazione Regina Margherita are involved in.

Pastoral Ministry Parish priest at Scopello, then at Dattilo (a hamlet of Paceco) and of the Mother church at Erice 1984-1986: Parochial Vicar in Trapani Cathedral 1984-1988: diocesan deputy assistant of the youth sector of Azione Cattolica 1984-1993: teacher of Dogmatic Theology at the ISRS "Alberto degli Abati" in Trapani 1984-1998: teaching assistant of Dogmatic Theology and History of Spirituality at the Pontificia Facoltà Teologica di Sicilia "San Giovanni Evangelista" 1986-1991: pastor of the parish "Maria Santissima delle Grazie" in Trapani 1991-1992: pastor of the parish "San Giuseppe" in Trapani 1993-1994: in the parish "Maria Santissima delle Grazie", in Trapani 1995-2000: assistant of the Missionarie della Regalità di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo and archpriest of Erice 1995-2001: deputy pastor of Chiesa madre at Erice 1998-2001: spiritual director at the diocesan Seminary of Trapani. from 1998: permanent teacher of History of Spirituality at the Faculty of Theology of Sicily. 1999-2009: member of the Pastoral Council and of the College of Consultors of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trapani. 1999-2002: deputy head of the Faculty of Theology of Sicily, he also was its principal from 2002 to 2009. Since 2005: member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology and Chaplain of His Holiness. Since 2008: member of the Committee for the Studies of Theology and Religious Sciences of Italian Episcopal Conference. Since November 2019: member of the Pontificio Consiglio della Cultura. Moderator of the pious Confraternity Beata Vergine Maria del Monte Carmelo, he is also a bishop delegate for Ecumenism and the Interreligious Dialogue in the Sicilian Episcopal Conference and a Vice-President of the Preparatory Committee of the 5th Convention of Italian Church, held in Florence in 2015.

From 24 September 2015 to 4 April 2016, he also held the office of apostolic administrator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela. On 24 May 2017 he was elected vice-president of Italian Episcopal Conference for Southern Italy.

In April 2019, Raspanti was called to testify about “the behavior of the church of Acireale” towards the Catholic Culture and Environment Association (ACCA). Former ACCA leader Piero Alfio Capuana, who stationed his group's headquarters in Acireale, was jailed in 2017 on charges of sexually abusing underage girls.

Works Bishop Raspanti has written and edited more than 50 books about theological, philosophical and literary subjects, among which include studies on Pico della Mirandola, Teresa di Lisieux, Pina Suriano, Giacomo Cusmano, Cataldo Naro and Gesualdo Bufalino.