Sevastianos Rossolatos

Sevastianos Rossolatos (Greek: Σεβαστιανός Ροσσολάτος, born in Ermoupoli, Greece on 19 July 1944) is a Greek Roman Catholic archbishop, named on 12 August 2014 by Pope Francis Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Athens and Apostolic Administrator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rhodes.

Sevastianos Rossolatos was born on 19 July 1944 at Ermoupoli, on the island of Syros, Greece. Like him, his family was Catholic, part of the ca. 200,000-strong Catholic community of Greece. There Catholics have a rather close relationship with the Orthodox Church, confession more widespread in the country, since the two Christian realities coexist for many centuries, and especially after the Second Vatican Council. There is also the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church, in communion with the bishop of Rome from the nineteenth century, which has about 3,000 faithful in Greece.

Rossolatos studied initially at the island of Syros, and then continued his education by attending the grammar school at the Greek-French Saint Paul School in Athens, managed the Society of Mary (Marists). He decided to follow his priestly vocation, so in 1962 he moved to Rome as a student at Sant'Atanasio College of the Greek Church and the Pontifical Gregorian University where he earned a BA in philosophy and theology. Then, at the end of six years of stay in Rome, he returned to his homeland, where on 21 July 1968 he was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syros and Milos. Rossolatos speaks Italian and French.

He was assigned to carry out the priestly ministry to the Virgin "Faneromeni" Sanctuary in Syros, also becoming the director of the diocesan magazine. Rossolatos has held various positions in the Commissions of the Holy Synod of Catholic Bishops of Greece, in particular liturgical, including: Chancellor of the Curia, a member of the Ecclesiastical Court, and religion teacher at many public schools, contributor to courses in diocesan marriage preparation and member of Committee on Divine Worship.

On August 12, 2014, Pope Francis, in accordance with can. 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law, accepted the resignation of Nikolaos Foskolos from the Episcopal government of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Athens and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rhodes. Unexpectedly, the same day the Pope appointed Rossolatos as the new archbishop. His episcopal consecration took place on October 25, 2014, at the hands of Nikolaos Foskolos, Archbishop Emeritus of Athens and apostolic administrator emeritus of Rhodes, assisted by Capuchin Emeritus bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Syros and Mylos Frangiskos Papamanolis and Nikolaos Printesis, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos.