24 Notable alumni of Salesian Pontifical University
Updated: May 31, 2026 EliteDegrees
Salesian Pontifical University is ranked #5,215 in the world and #79 in Italy by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 24 notable alumni from Salesian Pontifical University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Salesian Pontifical University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Peter C. Phan
1943-. (aged 83)
Catholic priest
Peter C. Phan is a Vietnamese-born American Catholic theologian and the inaugural holder of the Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University.
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2. Edmundo Valenzuela Mellid
1944-. (aged 82)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Archbishop Edmundo Ponziano Valenzuela Mellid SDB is a Roman Catholic missionary currently serving in Paraguay as the sixth Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Asunción. On February 13, 2006, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Apostolic Vicar to Chaco Paraguayo, an area with a population of 18,000 but only 5 ordained priests. As a result of this appointment,...
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3. Milena Minkova
university teacher
classical philologist
translator
Milena Minkova is a Bulgarian scholar of the Latin language. She has lived, studied and taught in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. She is now a resident of the United States and teaches Latin and Classics at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Since the last decade of the 20th century, she has been one of the leading figures in the...
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4. Meron Mazur
1962-. (aged 64)
Catholic deacon
Catholic bishop
Catholic priest
Bishop Meron Mazur, O.S.B.M. is a Brazilian Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch. He is currently the eparchial bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Imaculada Conceição in Prudentópolis, an office that he has held since 12 May 2014. From 12 December 2005 until his assumption of his present position, he was the titular bishop of Simitthu and the auxiliary bishop of...
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5. Fernando Legal
1931-2023 (aged 92)
Catholic deacon
Catholic bishop
Catholic priest
Fernando Legal was a Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate. He was bishop of Itapeva from 1980 to 1985, Limeira from 1985 to 1989, and São Miguel Paulista from 1989 to 2008.
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6. Jerome Dhas Varuvel
1951-. (aged 75)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Bishop Jerome Dhas Varuvel, SDB, was born 21 October 1951 in Paduvoor in the diocese of Kottar. He attended Carmel Secondary School in Nagercoil. From 1967 to 1968 he followed the pre-university course at the Scott Christian College, Nagercoil. From 1968 to 1970 he attended the minor seminary at St. Aloysius Seminary in Nagercoil. He studied philosophy at Sacred Heart...
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7. Péter Fülöp Kocsis
1963-. (aged 63)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Péter Fülöp Kocsis is the metropolitan archbishop of the Archeparchy of Hajdúdorog and the head of the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church.
8. Demetrio Fernández González
1950-. (aged 76)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Demetrio Fernández González is a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church serving as bishop of the Diocese of Córdoba, Spain, since 18 February 2010.
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9. Antoni Vadell Ferrer
1972-2022 (aged 50)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Antoni Vadell i Ferrer was a Spanish Roman Catholic prelate.
10. Bernardica Juretić
1963-. (aged 63)
psychologist
politician
Bernardica Juretić is a former Croatian Catholic nun and psychologist who served as the Minister of Social Policy and Youth in the Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković from 22 January 2016 until its dissolution and appointment of the new government in September 2016.
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11. Luigi Bonazzi
1948-2025 (aged 77)
diplomat
Catholic bishop
Catholic priest
Luigi Bonazzi was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He served as the apostolic nuncio to Canada from December 2013 to December 2020, and to Albania from 2020 to 2025.
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12. Raphaël François Minassian
1946-. (aged 80)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, I.C.P.B. is a Lebanese-born Armenian hierarch who serves as the 21st patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church. He previously served as ordinary of the Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Eastern Europe, which covers Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine, from 24 June 2011 to 23 September 2021 and as a Patriarchal Exarch of the...
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13. Alois Kothgasser
1937-2024 (aged 87)
university teacher
Catholic bishop
Catholic priest
Alois Kothgasser was an Austrian Roman Catholic prelate. He was the bishop of Innsbruck from 1997 to 2002 and Primas Germaniae and archbishop of Salzburg from 2003 to 2013. He died in Salzburg on 22 February 2024, at the age of 86.
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14. Guido Marini
1965-. (aged 61)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
university teacher
theologian
Guido Marini is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as the bishop of Tortona in northern Italy. A priest since 1989, from 2007 to 2021 he was Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies, serving under Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Before joining the papal household, Marini worked in the Archdiocese of Genoa, where he was the personal...
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15. Joseph Zen
1932-. (aged 94)
Latin Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, SDB is a Chinese Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Hong Kong from 2002 to 2009. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and has been outspoken on issues regarding human rights, political freedom, and religious liberty. He is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
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16. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
1948-. (aged 78)
Catholic bishop
Catholic priest
politician
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, SDB, commonly known as Carlos Belo or Ximenes Belo is an East Timorese prelate of the Catholic Church. He became a bishop in 1988 and served as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Díli from 1988 to 2002. In 1996, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with José Ramos-Horta for working "towards a just and...
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17. Angelo Amato
1938-2024 (aged 86)
archbishop
dean
Catholic priest
theologian
university teacher
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2002 to 2008 and became a cardinal in 2010.
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18. Virgílio do Carmo da Silva
1967-. (aged 59)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, SDB is a Timorese Catholic prelate who was appointed Bishop of Dili on 30 January 2016. He became an archbishop when the diocese was elevated in 2019.
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19. Tarcisio Bertone
1934-. (aged 92)
Catholic priest
diplomat
university teacher
Latin Catholic bishop
Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone SDB is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop of Genoa from 2002 to 2006, and as Cardinal Secretary of State from 2006 to 2013. On...
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20. Angelo Vincenzo Zani
1950-. (aged 76)
university teacher
Catholic priest
theologian
philosopher
Catholic bishop
Angelo Vincenzo Zani is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church from September 2022 to March 2025. He was the Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, its second-highest officer, from November 2012 to September 2022 after serving as its third-highest official for ten years. He has been an...
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21. Tomáš Zdechovský
1979-. (aged 47)
writer
poet
journalist
politician
Tomáš Zdechovský is a Czech politician and businessperson. In 2004, he founded Commservis.com, a communications and PR agency, of which he was CEO until his election as a Member of the European Parliament in 2014. Since 2014 he has been a Member of the European Parliament with KDU-ČSL, which is part of the European Peoples Party.
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22. Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga
1942-. (aged 84)
university teacher
Catholic bishop
Catholic priest
Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. is a Honduran prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Tegucigalpa from 1993 to 2023. He was president of Caritas Internationalis and served as president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) from 1995 to 1999.
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23. Raúl Silva Henríquez
1907-1999 (aged 92)
Catholic bishop
lawyer
Catholic priest
Raúl Silva Henríquez SDB was a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal from 1962. He served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from 1961 to 1983 and as Bishop of Valparaíso from 1959 to 1961. Both as Archbishop and in retirement, he was an advocate for social justice and democracy and a forthright vocal critic of the military...
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24. Ricardo Ezzati Andrello
1942-. (aged 84)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Ricardo Ezzati Andrello SDB is an Italian-born Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who has lived and worked in Chile since the age of 17. He was Archbishop of Santiago from December 2010 to March 2019 and has been a cardinal since February 2014. He previously served as Archbishop of Concepción. He headed the Episcopal Conference of Chile from 2010...
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