Appointment of bishop of Lanusei, Italy

Appointment of auxiliary of Tiranë-Durrës, Albania

Appointment of bishop of Lanusei, Italy

The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of Lanusei, Italy, Bishop Antonello Mura of Nuoro, apostolic administrator of Lanusei, uniting in persona Episcopi the dioceses of Nuoro and Lanusei.

Bishop Antonio Mura

Bishop Antonio Mura was born in Bortigali, province of Nuoro and diocese of Alghero-Bosa, on 28 December 1952.

He carried out his higher studies at the Technical Institute of Surveyors of Macomer, and then attended university for two years before entering the seminary in 1974. He was sent to Rome, where he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Salesian University, a licentiate in dogmatic theology from the Theological Faculty of Sardinia and a degree in pedagogy, then in philosophy, from the State University of Sassari.

He was ordained a priest on 1 August 1979 for the diocese of Alghero-Bosa.

Since ordination he has performed the following tasks and ministries: vice-parish priest of San Francesco in Macomer (1979-1981); vice-parish priest of San Leonardo in Villanova Monteleone (1981-1982); animator in the Sardinian Regional Seminary in Cagliari (1982-1985); editor-in-chief (1984-1993) and director (2005-2012) of the diocesan newspaper “Il Dialogo”; spiritual father in the minor seminaries of Alghero and Bosa (1985-1988); head of the Diocesan Youth Pastoral Ministry (1986-1988); director of the Regional Vocations Centre (1985-1995 and 2008-2011); parish priest of San Leonardo in Villanova Monteleone (1988-1991); parish priest of the Natività di Maria at Santa Maria La Palma (1991-1993); director of the Diocesan Liturgical Office (1993-2007); rector and administrator of the diocesan seminary (1993-2009); director of the School of Ministries and Formation of Permanent Deacons (1994-2012); regional coordinator of the Cultural Project of the CEI (2004-2014); pro vicar general of the diocese (2007-2010); and parish priest of the Santissimo Nome in Alghero (2012-2014).

He has also served as a teacher of religion at the Technical Institute of Macomer, at the Higher Institute of Bosa and at the Classical Lyceum of Alghero; he taught history and philosophy in the Classical and Scientific Lyceum of Bosa and Macomer, and at the Higher Institute of Bosa.

In addition, he was a lecturer at the Higher Institute for Religious Sciences of Sassari, and member of the presbyteral council and college of consultors. Since 1996 he has been registered in the national order of Public Journalists. He collaborates periodically with the daily newspaper “Avvenire”.

He was elected as bishop of Lanusei on 31 January 2014, and was consecrated the following 25 March.

Since 14 January 2020 he has served as president of the Episcopal Conference of Sardinia.

Appointment of auxiliary of Tiranë-Durrës, Albania

The Holy Father has appointed as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës, Albania, the Reverend Don Arjan Dodaj, of the clergy of Rome, currently vicar general of Tiranë-Durrës, assigning him the titular see of Lestrona.

Reverend Don Arjan Dodaj

The Reverend Don Arjan Dodaj was born in Laç-Kurbin, in the archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës, on 21 January 1977. In 1993, after completing his primary and secondary studies in his home town, he emigrated to Italy and settled in Cuneo, where he began work.

In 1997 he asked to be received into the Priestly Fraternity of the Sons of the Cross, House of Mary Community, based in Rome.

He attended courses in philosophy and theology in preparation for the priesthood at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum, obtaining a bachelor’s degree.

He was ordained a priest on 11 May 2003 by Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter’s Basilica. He was incardinated in the diocese of Rome as a member of the Priestly Fraternity of the Sons of the Cross, in the House of Mary Community.

Since priestly ordination he has held various pastoral roles: from 2003 to 2004 he was parish vicar of the San Domenico di Guzman parish in Rome; from 2004 to 2005, vice rector of the San Giovanni della Malva rectory and chaplain of the Albanese community in Rome; from 2005 to 2017, parish vicar of the San Raffaele Archangelo parish in Rome.

In 2017, with the consent of his bishop, the Cardinal Vicar of His Holiness for the diocese of Rome, he transferred as a fidei donum missionary to the archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës, where he holds the following pastoral offices: vicar general; parish priest of the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady the Queen parish in Gramëz; head of university pastoral ministry; adjunct secretary of the Albanese Episcopal Conference; and secretary general of the diocesan Synod.