Pontiff fills see that was vacant for 13 years

February 02, 2026

Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Manuel Nin Güell, OSB, as apostolic exarch of the Territorial Abbacy of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata in Italy.

The see had been vacant since 2013, when Abbot Emiliano Fabbricatore, OSBI, retired at the age of 75. On the day of the abbot’s retirement, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Marcello Semeraro as apostolic administrator.

The territorial abbacy is one of three jurisdictions of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See.

According to the Annuario Pontificio, the territorial abbacy has only nine faithful: all of them male religious, and four of them priests. It operates one parish or quasi-parish, one educational institution, and one charitable institution; it recorded seven baptisms in 2024.

Born in 1956, Bishop Nin entered the Order of St. Benedict in 1977, was ordained to the priesthood in 1996, and was ordained a bishop in 2016. He was previously rector of the Pontifical Greek College in Rome (1999-2016) and apostolic exarch for Catholics of Byzantine rite resident in Greece (since 2016).

 

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Further information:

• Resignations and Appointments, 31.01.2026 (Holy See Press Office, 1/31/26)