Archbishop Of Florence: Prison One Of The Peripheries The Church Has In Its Heart
Monsignor Gherardo Gambelli until his appointment to the leadership of the Tuscan Archdiocese last April was chaplain of the Sollicciano prison. Prior to this assignment, he spent seven years in Chad as a “fidei donum” missionary
His first words were for them, the Sollicciano inmates among whom he has spent this pastoral year and to whom he has promised that he will still visit them, whenever he can. Monsignor Gherardo Gambelli on April 18 was appointed the new archbishop of Florence and today he takes possession of the ecclesial territory, succeeding Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, from whom he picked up the baton in the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, when to reporters he spoke once again about prison and prison ministry, a “priority of the Church” because it really allows “living fidelity to the Gospel.” A simple concept that he also takes up in his interview with Vatican Radio – Vatican News: “Pope Francis also desires attention to the peripheries and the prison is one of the most important existential peripheries.”
Roberta Barbi – Vatican City