Moscow and Minsk

The Holy Father today named the Most Reverend Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz as the new Archbishop of Minsk-Mohilev in Belarus. Up to now, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz had been Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Russia.

The Holy Father also named today Father Don Paolo Pezzi, FSCB, to be the new Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow. Up to now, Archbishop-elect Pezzi had been Rector of the Major Seminary "Mary Queen of Apostles" in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was born in 1960 in Russi in the region of Emilia Romagna in Italy. He completed his philosophy and theology studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1990 for the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo. He went on to complete a Doctorate at the Lateran University with a thesis on Catholics in Siberia. He has served in several positions, including Director of the Catholic journal and Dean of the central region of Siberia in the diocese of Novosibirsk from 1993 to 1998, Vicar General of his order from 1998 to 2005, leader of the "Communion and Liberation" Movement in Russia since 1998, teacher at the St. Petersburg Major Seminary since 2004 and Rector since 2006. Archbishop-elect Pezzi speaks Russian, English, Spanish, French, and Italian.