Vincenzo Bertolone

Vincenzo Bertolone S.d.P. (born 17 November 1946) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace from 2011 to 2021. He was previously the bishop of the Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio. He has also written and published a number of books on religious topics.

Priestly ministry He was ordained a priest in Palermo on 17 May 1975 as a member of the order of the Missionary Servants of the Poor. He graduated in pedagogy from the University of Palermo in 1981, and obtained his license in Canon Law at the "Angelicum" in Rome in 1985. In the same year he received the Postulator certificate from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and, in 1987, he obtained his doctorate in Canon Law.

Bishop of Cassano all'Jonio On 10 March 2007, it was announced that Bertolone had been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the new bishop of the diocese of Cassano all'Jonio in Calabria. Bertolone was ordained a bishop on 3 May 2007 by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone S.B.D., with Cardinal Franc Rode and Archbishop Vittorio Luigi Mondello in Rome. He was formally installed as bishop 10 days later on 13 May 2007. He was formally installed as archbishop on 29 May 2011.

Bertolone has historically been a strong critic of Sicilian Mafia and 'Ndrangheta, calling them anti-Christian and anti-Gospel, and was one of the stronger advocates for the beatification of Pino Puglisi (an Italian priest killed by the mafia in the 1990s).

Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 15 September 2021, two months in advance of his 75th birthday, the usual retirement date.

Publications

La Salus animarum nell’ordinamento giuridico della Chiesa, 1987 Volto Redentore, Le sette lampade, 1997 E il mandorlo fiorì, 1999 I sette doni della grazia, 2000 I tre compagni di viaggio, 2001 Francesco Spoto. Il martire del sorriso, Elledici, 2007. Sulle orme del divino viandante. Riflessioni sulla vita consacrata, Elledici, 2007. Perché, perché Signore? Non sei colpa tu, o Signore..., Edizioni San Paolo, 2010. La sapienza del sorriso. Il martirio di don Giuseppe Puglisi, Paoline, 2012. Padre Pino Puglisi beato. Profeta e martire, Edizioni San Paolo, 2013. I care humanum - Passare la fiaccola della nuova umanità, Paoline, 2014. Perfectae caritatis, cinquan'anni dopo. Né estranei agli uomini, né inutili nella città, Edizioni San Paolo, 2015. Il grano e la zizzania, Rubbettino, 2017. Gesù: eterno giovane tra i giovani, Rubbettino, 2018. Scomunica ai mafiosi? Contributi per un dibattito, Rubbettino, 2018.