Italo Dell’Oro, CRS (born June 20, 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas since 2021.
Italo Dell’Oro was born on June 20, 1953, in Malgrate, in the province of Lecco, Italy. His parents were Giuseppe Dell'Oro and Silene (Crippa) Dell'Oro. He has two sisters, Michela and Edvige (Edy).[1] His first cousin is Bishop Adelio Dell'Oro of the Diocese of Karaganda in Kazakhstan.[2][3]
On September 11, 1982, Dell’Oro was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Como at the Santuario Del Santissimo Crocifisso in Como, Italy by Bishop Teresio Ferraroni of the Archdiocese of Milan.[6]
Three years after his ordination, Dell'Oro came to the United States to work as a priest assistant at Pine Haven Boys Center in Allenstown, New Hampshire, a school for troubled children operated by the Somascan Fathers. In 1988, he received a Master of Arts degree counseling and psychotherapy from Rivier University in Nashua, New Hampshire.
In 1992, Dell'Oro was transferred to Houston,Texas, where he became pastor at Assumption Parish in that city. After eight years as Assumption, he was appointed dean of the Northeast Deanery in Houston. This was followed in 2001 by his appointment as vocations director at the Somascan Fathers House of Formation in Houston. Dell'Oro was appointed director of ministry to priests for the archdiocese in 2005, a position he would hold for the next ten years. In 2014, he was elevated to formation director.[7] In 2015, Dell'Oro became vicar for clergy and the secretariat director for clergy formation and chaplaincy services. He was named vicar general in 2021.[7]
Pope Francis appointed Dell’Oro as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on May 18, 2021.[7][8][9] On July 2, 2021, he was consecrated by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.[10] Archbishop Franco Moscone was to serve as a co-consecrator but could not travel from Italy to the United States to attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions. Bishop Brendan J. Cahill served instead as co-consecrator.[11]
Catholicism
Texas
