The bishop of Ascoli Piceno
in Marche, Giovanni D'Ercole, has resigned to join a monastery
at the age of 75 and then become a missionary in Africa.
Msgr D'Ercole said he had sent his resignation letter to Pope
Francis on October 13 and it had been accepted.
"He said it was a "difficult choice, tough but deeply free,
inspired by service to the Church and not to my personal
interest".
He said "I'm entering a monastery where I will be able to
accompany the path of the Church in a more intense way, in
meditation, in contemplation and in silence.
"When I have completed this period in the monastery then I will
open myself to all the prospects that the Lord will want to give
me".
D'Ercole said he planned to "return to the origins of my
priesthood, in Africa, among the 'poorest of the poor', as St
Teresa of Calcutta would say.
The former bishop has worked tirelessly with locals hit by a
deadly and devastating earthquake in 2016 and by those most
affected by the COVID pandemic.
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