Ambassador Alfredo Bastianelli, new Chancellor of the Order
The Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, has appointed Ambassador Alfredo Bastianelli as Chancellor for a term of four years. Bastianelli is a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Born in Rome on January 26, 1951, he married Fiammetta Fiorentino in 1983, and is father to three sons: Giovanni Battista, Ascanio and Niccolò.
A graduate in Law, the new Chancellor served the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for many years, holding positions at the Italian Consulate in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and at Italian embassies in Canada, Mozambique and Indonesia, in addition to the Permanent Representation at the European Union. He then served as Ambassador of his country in Angola, Cyprus and Belgium.
The new Chancellor is multilingual, speaking Italian, English, French and Portuguese fluently. Alfredo Bastianelli has also been a Gentleman of His Holiness since 2007. The members of the Order, present throughout the world, wish him welcome, and join together in prayer, entrusting his new mission to Our Lady of Palestine.
(May 12, 2016)