Biography
Born in Boville Ernica (Frosinone) on 21 April 1945, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia studied theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Lateran University and pedagogy at the University of Urbino. Ordained priest in 1970, he has been for over fifty years a close companion of the Community of Sant’Egidio.
From 1981 to 2000 he was parish priest of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. In 2000 he was ordained Bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia; in 2012 he was elevated to Archbishop and appointed President of the Pontifical Council for the Family. From 2016 to 2025 he served as President of the Pontifical Academy for Life and Grand Chancellor of the John Paul II Theological Institute.
In 2020 he promoted the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a landmark declaration on the ethics of algorithms and artificial intelligence signed by major technology corporations, international institutions and the Abrahamic religions.
The same year, the Italian Minister of Health appointed him President of the National Commission for the Reform of Health and Social Care for the Elderly, whose work led to Law 33/2023 on active ageing and home care.
Postulator of the cause of Archbishop Óscar Romero and UNESCO Gandhi Prize laureate, he is the author of many volumes on spirituality, family, ageing and the ethics of technology.