Occhetta Francesco

Francesco Occhetta was born in Novara, Italy, on 26 May 1970. He is the son of GianLina and Assunto, and has a sister, Chiara, and grandchildren Aurora and Marco. He has been a Jesuit since 1996, having entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Genoa on 20 October 1996. He holds a degree in Law (public address) from the State University of Milan, a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Aloisianum Philosophical Institute, and a specialisation in Human Rights from the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Padua. He studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he later obtained a doctorate in moral theology, after specialising in moral theology at the Comillas University in Madrid. He completed his formation in Santiago, Chile. Before becoming a Jesuit, he was a municipal councillor in the municipality of Romentino from 1990 to 1995 and did his civil service at Caritas in Novara (Telesoccorso) from April 1995 to 1996. Between 2000 and 2002, he worked on the editorial board of the magazine Aggiornamenti Sociali doing voluntary service in San Vittore prison. From 2002 to 2005, he volunteered at Centro Astalli and at the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome. He has been registered as a freelance journalist since 2002 and became a professional journalist in January 2011. From October 2007 to June 2020 he was a member of the College of Writers of La Civiltà Cattolica magazine, covering social issues and law. Since January 2010 he has been a national consultant of the Italian Catholic Press Union UCSI. From 2018 to 2021 he was teaching director of the Courses in the Social Doctrine of the Church of the Vatican Foundation Centesimus annus pro Pontifice. Since 2009, he has coordinated and directed the ‘Community of Connections’ path of formation in politics. He has taught at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy and currently teaches at the Pontifical Gregorian University in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Since May 2021, he has worked with Cardinal Mauro Gambetti at St. Peter’s Basilica. Since October 2021, he has been Secretary General of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation.

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