His Excellency Bishop Paolo Martinelli OFM Cap., is the Apostolic Vicar of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church covering the countries of the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. Born on 22 October 1958 in Milan, Italy, Bishop Paolo made his religious profession in 1980 and was ordained priest in 1985. Pope Francis appointed Bishop Paolo as the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia on 1 May 2022 as the successor of Bishop Paul Hinder. His canonical installation as the Apostolic Vicar took place on 2 July 2022 at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Abu Dhabi. Prior to his appointment, Bishop Paolo served as the auxiliary bishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan since May 2014. Since 2006, he has been the Consultor of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, since 2009 the Consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. Since 2012, he has been a Consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The episcopal motto of Bishop Paolo is “Gloria Dei vivens homo” (The glory of God is man fully Alive).
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