CISA

BEIRA, APRL 14, 2026 (CISA) – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Claudio Dalla Zuanna, SCI, from the pastoral care of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Beira in Mozambique at the age of 67, below the canonical retirement age.

The resignation of the Argentine-born prelate, who has led the Archdiocese since October 2012, was made public by the Holy See Press Office on April 10. The Vatican did not disclose the reasons for his early resignation.

In the Catholic Church, Bishops are required to submit their resignation upon attaining the age of 75, although earlier resignations may be accepted for reasons such as ill health or other serious circumstances.

Archbishop Dalla Zuanna, a member of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (SCI), succeeded the late Archbishop Jaime Pedro Gonçalves and has overseen the Beira Metropolitan See for more than a decade.

Born on November 7, 1958, in Buenos Aires to Italian parents, he entered the novitiate of the SCI in 1978 and made his perpetual profession in 1982. He was ordained a priest on August 24, 1984.

In 1985, he was sent as a missionary to Mozambique, where he served extensively, including in the Catholic Diocese of Gurué and the Maputo Archdiocese, gaining deep pastoral experience within the local Church.

He was appointed Archbishop of Beira in June 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI and was ordained bishop in October of the same year. On June 29, 2013, Pope Francis conferred upon him the Pallium, signifying his role as Metropolitan Archbishop in communion with the Holy See.

His resignation marks an early conclusion to his episcopal leadership in Beira, bringing to a close over a decade of missionary and pastoral service in Mozambique.