Nicola Riezzo

Nicola Riezzo (born December 11, 1904 in Squinzano , Province of Lecce , Italy , † August 20, 1998 ibid) was Archbishop of Otranto .

Life

From 1923 Riezzo studied theology at the Collegio Capranica and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome . On August 21, 1927, he was ordained a priest by Gennaro Trama , then Bishop of Lecce . In the following years he worked as a teacher at the seminaries in Lecce, Assisi and Molfetta.

Pope Pius XII appointed him on March 25, 1958 Bishop of Castellaneta . He was ordained episcopate on June 29th of the same year by Francesco Minerva , Bishop of Lecce. Co- consecrators were the future Cardinal Corrado Ursi , Bishop of Nardò , and Guglielmo Motolese , auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Taranto . From 1962 to 1965 Riezzo took part in all sessions of the Second Vatican Council . Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Otranto on April 28, 1969. There he was characterized by a special closeness to the poor and the youth. At the same time he became Grand Prior of the Salento-Lecce section of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem , which he remained until his resignation as Archbishop of Otranto. From 1969 to 1974 he was also Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca .

Pope John Paul II accepted his age-related resignation on January 27, 1981. Nicola Riezzo returned to Squinzano, where he was still involved in community work. He died in 1998 at the age of 93. On June 27, 2005, the beatification process was opened, during which Riezzo was declared a Venerable Servant of God .

Web links

• Entry on Nicola Riezzo on catholic-hierarchy.org
• Biography on santiebeati.it (Italian)

predecessor	Office	successor
Gaetano Pollio	Archbishop of Otranto 1969–1981	Vincenzo Franco