Witness interview with the Vatican Evangelizer

The President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization and Coordinator of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, Salvatore ‘Rino’ Fisichella was born in Codogno in northern Italy on August 25, 1951. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome on March 13, 1976 and became an auxiliary of the same diocese and Titular Bishop of Vicohabentia in 1988. His Excellency is a renown systematic theologian, professor and author of numerous theological, catechetical and pastoral works in Italy and far beyond. He was elevated to the rank of archbishop in 2008 after being named by Pope Benedict XVI to head the Pontifical Academy for Life.

On June 30, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fisichella President of the newly established Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. This council aims to address the progressive secularization of historically Christian areas of the world. Archbishop Fisichella was a key player in the 2012 Ordinary Synod on the New Evangelization at the Vatican which later gave way to a unique Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium that was published by Pope Francis. Pope Francis entrusted to Archbishop Fisichella the organization and implementation of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy for the Universal Church.

A new WITNESS interview, which took place in the offices of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization at the Vatican on September 2, 2016, will air on Salt+Light TV on Sunday evening.