Pope Leo appoints new apostolic visitor to Medjugorje
Bishop Francesco Cavina’s new assignment takes him to a pilgrimage site that has drawn millions of visitors since reports of Marian apparitions began in 1981.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Francesco Cavina on Oct. 31 as special apostolic visitor for the parish of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Holy See announced.
Bishop Cavina, bishop emeritus of Carpi, Italy, succeeds Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, who had served in the role since 2021 and whose resignation Pope Leo accepted the same day, according to Vatican News.
Bishop Cavina’s responsibilities will include caring for the parish community and its many pilgrims, the Diocese of Carpi said in an Oct. 31 statement welcoming his appointment.
“The Church of Carpi congratulates Msgr. Francesco Cavina and assures him that it will accompany him with prayer in this new pastoral service that the Holy Father has entrusted to him, confident that through his wise teaching he will be able to fulfill the assigned mandate of caring for the community and the numerous pilgrims,” the diocese said.
Appointed bishop of Carpi in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop-elect Cavina holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University. He has also served in multiple pastoral offices including Chancellor of the Episcopal See and Assistant to the Diocesan Commission for Family Pastoral Care.
Millions have traveled to Medjugorje since six local children reported seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1981. In 2024, with Pope Francis’ approval, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith permitted public devotion through a nihil obstat, as Zeale News previously reported. The decision acknowledged the spiritual fruits associated with the site without establishing a supernatural origin for the reported apparitions.
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