Carlo Alberto Capella

Carlo Alberto Capella is an Italian Catholic priest and Vatican diplomat who was convicted by a Vatican tribunal of possessing and sharing child pornography in 2018. He is one of the few people who have served a prison sentence in the Vatican jail.

Biography Born in Carpi, Italy, in July 1967, he was ordained a priest in 1993 for the Archdiocese of Milan. After studies of canon law he entered the Vatican diplomatic corps. He was assigned to the papal nunciature in India in 2003 and to the nunciature in Hong Kong in 2007. In 2008, he was made a Chaplain of His Holiness, which entitled him to the title of monsignor. In 2011 he was transferred to the Vatican to serve in the Secretariat of State. In 2016 he was assigned to the nunciature to the United States.

Conviction In 2017, Capella was recalled to the Vatican by Pope Francis after United States officials informed the Vatican that he was under investigation for possession and sharing of child pornography. Shortly thereafter, Canada issued a warrant for his arrest, alleging that during a visit to Canada in December 2016 he had possessed and shared child pornography. As a diplomat, he was immune from prosecution in the United States. As of 2021, he was allowed out during the day to work in an office that handles papal blessings. Calling his possession and distribution of child pornography "a bump in the road in my priestly life," Capella said he wanted to continue receiving "psychological support."