Alfredo Horacio Zecca (27 September 1949 – 4 November 2022) was an Argentine prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Tucumán from 2011 to 2017, when he resigned for health reasons.


Alfredo Zecca
Titular Archbishop of Volsinium
Appointed9 June 2017
Term ended4 November 2022
PredecessorJusto Mullor García
SuccessorVacant
Previous post(s)Archbishop of Tucumán (2011–2017)
Orders
Ordination19 November 1976
by Juan Carlos Aramburu
Consecration18 August 2011
by Jorge Mario Bergoglio
Personal details
Born(1949-09-27)27 September 1949
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died4 November 2022(2022-11-04) (aged 73)
MottoVOBIS EPISCOPUS, VOBISCUM CHRISTIANUS
Coat of armsAlfredo Zecca's coat of arms
Styles of
Reference styleAlfredo Zecca
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop

Life

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Zecca was born in Buenos Aires, and ordained to the priesthood on 19 November 1976.

Zecca was named a consultor to the Congregation for Catholic Education on 29 January 2005,[1] and a member of that Congregation on 12 June 2012.[2]

On 10 June 2011, he was appointed Archbishop of Tucumán following the retirement of Archbishop Luis Héctor Villalba.[3]

Zecca received his episcopal consecration on 11 August from Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio (later Pope Francis), Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Serving as co-consecrators were Estanislao Esteban Cardinal Karlic, Archbishop Emeritus of Paraná, Eduardo Vicente Mirás, Archbishop Emeritus of Rosario, Luis Héctor Villalba, Archbishop Emeritus of Tucumán, and Ariel Edgardo Torrado Mosconi, Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago del Estero. He was installed in Tucumán on 17 September 2011.

Zecca met with Pope Francis in February 2017 and submitted his resignation on 19 March. Pope Francis accepted his resignation as archbishop for health reasons on 9 June 2017, when Zecca was 67, assigning him the titular see of Bolsena.[4] Rather than allowing him to become Archbishop Emeritus, as is normal in cases of retirement, he was assigned the titular see of Bolsena and remained an active bishop.[5] According to some reports, Pope Francis removed Zecca, not for health reasons but because he had accepted the government authorities' ruling of suicide in the case of a priest who had been a longtime campaigner against drug traffickers was found hanged on 5 October 2016.[4][6]

Zecca died from heart failure on 4 November 2022, at the age of 73.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 29.01.2005" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. January 29, 2005.
  2. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 12.06.2012" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. June 12, 2012.
  3. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 10.06.2011" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. June 10, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "El Papa Francisco aceptó la renuncia de Zecca". La Gaceta (in Spanish). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 09.06.2017" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. June 9, 2017.
  6. ^ Lamb, Christopher (19 June 2017). "Nice guy or tough guy? The two faces of Pope Francis". Religion News Service. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Falleció el ex arzobispo de Tucumán, monseñor Alfredo Horacio Zecca". La Gaceta. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Tituar Archbishop of Volsinium
2017–2022
Succeeded by
Vacant
Preceded by Archbishop of Tucumán
2011–2017
Succeeded by