This morning, at noon Rome time, the Holy Father nominated Bishop Francesco Moraglia of the Italian diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato to be the new Patriarch of Venice. I suspect this will raise some interest among those who are looking for possible signs of who might be the next pope, as the Venetian patriarch has relatively frequently been later elevated to the papacy, for example, St. Pope Pius X, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul I.
Moraglia was born in 1953 and later ordained a priest for the diocese of Genoa in 1977. He studied at the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome where he received his doctorate in 1981. He was ordained a bishop in 2008, so he is a relative new-comer to the episcopal scene. In addition to his epicopal duties to the diocese, he has been involved with the congregation on Communication and Culture, and has been a consultor for the Congregation for the Clergy.
Might he be one of the “papabili”? I believe so.
Time will tell.
