Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Roman priest don Pier Luigi Stolfi as the new moderator of the Curia of the Diocese of Rome, a newly created position within the structure of the Vicariate of Rome whose mission will be to assist the cardinal vicar, Baldo Reina, in coordinating the ordinary governance of the Pope’s diocese.
The appointment develops one of the main innovations introduced by Leo XIV in the motu proprio Confirma Fratres Tuos, published on June 30, which updated the apostolic constitution In Ecclesiarum Communione, promulgated by Pope Francis in 2023 to reform the Vicariate of Rome.
A new figure to coordinate the Vicariate of Rome
The moderator of the Curia will be responsible for coordinating the various departments of the Vicariate, overseeing administrative activity, and ensuring the proper performance of staff. In practice, he will carry out functions similar to those of a director general, easing part of the management burden that previously fell on the cardinal vicar and the vicegerent.
The motu proprio establishes that this official will be appointed directly by the Pope, on the proposal of the cardinal vicar, for a five-year term, renewable for a second term.
The document also specifies that the moderator “assists the cardinal vicar in the exercise of his functions,” “coordinates the activities of the Vicariate in accordance with his directives,” and “oversees the proper fulfillment of the tasks entrusted to the staff.”
A long career in the service of the Diocese of Rome
Born in Rome on September 14, 1970, don Pier Luigi Stolfi completed his formation at the Minor Roman Seminary and later at the Major Roman Seminary. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and pursued specialized studies in Marriage and Family at the John Paul II Institute.
He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome on April 28, 1996 and, since then, has carried out most of his ministry in various pastoral, formative, and administrative areas of the Vicariate.
From 1996 to 2001 he served as vice-rector of the Pontifical Minor Roman Seminary. He later worked as parochial vicar of San Damaso and in the Liturgical Office of the Vicariate. Between 2006 and 2008 he held the position of vice-rector of the Pontifical Major Roman Seminary.
Specialist in ecclesiastical heritage and administration
A significant part of his career has been linked to the preservation of ecclesiastical heritage and the administration of the Diocese of Rome.
From 2008 to 2017 he was deputy director of the Office for the Construction of Churches of the Vicariate, an office of which he later assumed the directorship. He was also responsible for the section of Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage, secretary general of the Roman Work for the Preservation of the Faith and the Construction of New Churches, and administrator of the Lateran Apostolic Palace.
During those years he also received various extraordinary assignments, including the management of several Roman archconfraternities, among them that of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami, whose reconstruction he oversaw after the collapse of the church’s roof.
Since 2020 he has been pastor of San Lino, in the Roman neighborhood of Pineta Sacchetti. In addition, since 2024 he has been a member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors of the Diocese of Rome; in 2025 he was appointed prefect of the XXXIII Diocesan Prefecture and, since May 2024, he has presided over the Institute of the Most Holy Assumption, known as “Tata Giovanni”, together with the affiliated Opera Pia De Angelis.
Implementation of the reform promoted by Leo XIV
Although the figure of the moderator of the Curia already exists in some Italian dioceses, it is an unprecedented position in the Diocese of Rome.
With this appointment, Leo XIV is putting into effect one of the main innovations introduced by the motu proprio Confirma Fratres Tuos. The new moderator will serve a five-year term, renewable for a second five-year period, and will be tasked with coordinating the activity of the Vicariate of Rome, implementing the directives of the cardinal vicar, and strengthening the functioning of the administration of the diocese whose bishop is the Pope himself.