Pope Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Francesco Antonio Soddu as metropolitan archbishop of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy) until now bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia. The decision was made public through the Holy See Bulletin this Saturday, February 21.
The appointment returns Soddu to his archdiocese of origin, where he developed much of his priestly ministry before being elevated to the episcopate. However, his time in Terni was marked by a controversial episode that generated criticism inside and outside Italy.
The 2022 controversy: presence in a Masonic lodge
In September 2022, as reported then by ZENIT, Monsignor Soddu participated in the inauguration of the local masonry headquarters in Terni, a fact that was confirmed on the official website of the Grand Orient of Italy (GOI).
The Church’s doctrine maintains a clear incompatibility between the Catholic faith and membership in Masonic associations. After the controversy, the diocese issued an statement —unsigned— in which it defended that the bishop’s presence did not imply any adherence to positions contrary to Christian doctrine and that his intention had been “to witness fidelity to the Gospel and to the Church”, in the context of the synodal journey.
Pastoral trajectory
Francesco Antonio Soddu was born on October 24, 1959, in Chiaramonti, in the archdiocese of Sassari. He was ordained a priest on April 24, 1985, after training at the Pontifical Sardinian Regional Seminary in Cagliari, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology and a Licentiate in Pastoral Theology.
In his priestly ministry, he held numerous positions in Sassari: vice-rector of seminaries, director of the Diocesan Vocations Center, parish priest of the Cathedral of San Nicolás, responsible for the diocesan Caritas and the Migrants service, as well as a member of various diocesan government bodies.
In 2012, he was appointed director of Caritas Italiana, a responsibility he held until 2021, consolidating his profile in the field of charitable and social action.
On October 29, 2021, he was appointed bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia, receiving episcopal ordination on January 5, 2022. Now, after a little more than four years in Umbria, the Holy Father transfers him to Sassari as metropolitan archbishop.