By Laura Ieraci
ROME — Pope Francis has named the first lay rector of the Pontifical Lateran University in the institution’s 245-year history, effective July 1. The nomination was announced June 2.
Vincenzo Buonomo will succeed Archbishop Enrico dal Covolo, who has served as university rector for the past eight years.
Buonomo was born April 16, 1961, in Gaeta, Italy, about 150 km south of Rome. He earned his doctorate in both civil and canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University, after which he began teaching at the university in 1984. He became a full professor in 2001, and served as the head of the civil law department, from 2006 to 2012. He is married with two children.
In addition to his teaching, Buonomo has been tapped for service from other Vatican bodies. Among these responsibilities, he was collaborator on the Holy See’s representation to the Food and Agriculture Organization since 1983, later named to head the office in 2007, according to the website of the Pontifical Lateran University. The 57-year-old academic has served as a counselor of the Vatican City State since 2014.
Archbishop Angelo De Donatis, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, who will be elevated to the rank of cardinal June 29, will continue to serve as the university’s Grand Chancellor.
The Pontifical Lateran University is the university of the bishop of Rome. It was founded by Pope Clement XIV in 1773, and received full status as a pontifical university from Pope John XXIII in 1959. The university has four departments: philosophy, theology, civil law and canon law.
Caption: Vincenzo Buonomo was appointed to serve as the first lay rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, effective July 1. (Photo: website of the Pontifical Lateran University)
