Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life

With a solid track record in bioethics and pastoral service, Monsignor Pegoraro assumes leadership of the PAV at a key stage for the ethical challenges of the 21st century.

Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro has been appointed as the new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), marking the beginning of a new era for this Vatican institution dedicated to the study, promotion, and defense of human life at all stages.

It should be noted that Archbishop Pegoraro takes office, replacing Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, who concluded his service as president after turning 80 in April 2025.

Born in Padua, Italy, in 1957, Monsignor Pegoraro is a physician and priest, as well as a doctor in Moral Theology with a specialization in Bioethics. Since 2011, he has served as Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life, consolidating a career deeply marked by interdisciplinary dialogue, commitment to human dignity, and the pursuit of a bioethics capable of responding to the ethical, scientific, and social challenges of the contemporary world.

The Pontifical Academy for Life was founded in 1994 by Saint John Paul II, with the aim of promoting and defending human life from the perspective of the Church's Magisterium. Since then, it has become an international benchmark for ethical and theological reflection on key topics such as biomedicine, genetics, artificial intelligence, aging, end-of-life care, and other crucial challenges facing humanity in the areas of health and technology.

We at the School of Bioethics celebrate this appointment with profound joy. Over the years, we have had the privilege of collaborating and engaging with Monsignor Pegoraro in numerous academic forums and international conferences. We recognize in him not only a distinguished expert in bioethics, but also a man of faith who has successfully integrated science and humanism from a profound and holistic perspective on the human person.

We congratulate you on this new assignment and express our institutional commitment to continue collaborating with the PAV in building a culture of life, based on respect, truth, and solidarity. We trust that your leadership will strengthen the academy's mission, promoting bioethics at the service of all humanity and in tune with the challenges of our time.