Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Guido Gallese, 64, from the pastoral care of the diocese of Alessandria, Italy. The Pontiff appointed Bishop Luigi Testore of Acqui as Alessandria’s apostolic administrator.
Bishop Gallese was appointed bishop of Alessandria in 2012 and became known for his passion for kitesurfing and for driving his Tesla. Relations with his priests deteriorated, and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the retired president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, conducted an apostolic visitation into diocesan governance.
Bishop Gallese—who said earlier this year that “you have to be bad and of little intellect to attack me”—sounded a more conciliatory tone upon his resignation. “Sometimes really loving a community means having the courage and humility,” he said, “to take a step back for the good of all.”
Bishop Gallese will now serve as ecclesiastical assistant of Italy’s national shrine association, by appointment of Archbishop Rino Fisichella, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization.