Fr. Vergez Is the Governorate’s New Secretary

By Andrea Tornielli
Vatican Insider
August 30, 2013

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/vaticano-vatican-vaticano-27471/

Following Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca’s transferral to the Apostolic Signatura, the Governorate has a new Secretary General: Fernando Vergez Alzaga, a member of the Legionaries of Christ who has up until today been head of Vatican City telecommunications.

Fr. Vergez was born in Salamanca, Spain, in March 1945 and twenty years later he made his perpetual profession to the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. He was ordained priest in 1969.

In 1972, after obtaining a degree in Philosophy and Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a diploma from the School of the Vatican Secret Archives, he began serving the Holy See through the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Three years later, Argentinean archbishop Eduardo Pironio (created cardinal by Paul VI in 1976) took over the dicastery’s leadership. Fr. Vergez started working with him as Secretary. In April 1984, Cardinal Pironio left the Congregation for Religious to take over as President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and Fr. Vergez followed him, as his Secretary, until the cardinal left the post.

In June 2004, Vergez was appointed head of the Holy See Internet Office and on 10 January 2008 he was nominated director of the Vatican City States Department of Telecommunications.

Contrary to other predecessors, the new Secretary has not been appointed titular bishop. Until recent times, the role of Secretary of the Governorate was also held by lay people. In the future therefore, prelates called to fill certain positions in administrative of financial bodies of the Vatican and the Holy See, may not be appointed bishops automatically.