Announcing the nomination, the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops explained that "the appointment of two Special Secretaries conforms to Article 14 § 3 of the Ordo Synod Episcoporum" (see Can. 348 § 2 of C.I.C.)
Cardinal Sérgio Rocha was made Cardinal by Pope Francis in his third consistory, held on 19 November, 2016. Fr Giacomo Costa, Jesuit, has been Director of the journal Aggiornamenti Sociali since 2010, and is considered among those consulted in writing the encyclical Laudato Sì.
Fr Rossano Sala has been a Salesian since 1992 and a priest since 2000. For four years, he served his pastoral-educational ministry in the Salesian house of Bologna, and for six years he was Director and Principal of Brescia's Salesian center. Licensed in "Sacred Theology" in 2002 at the Interregional Theological Faculty in Milan, in 2012 he received his doctorate in "Sacred Theology" at the same Faculty.
He taught "Fundamental Theology" at the Studentato Teologico salesiano in Turin-Crocetta. Since 2011, he has been part of the academic community of the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome. In 2016, he was appointed Director of the magazine Note di Pastorale Giovanile.
"This assignment as Special Secretary is a sign of confidence in the Salesian Family," Fr Sala told ANS. "It is a task that comes from the Holy Father to be of help and support in the preparation of the Synod and, above all, to closely accompany Cardinal Rocha."
"I am very grateful for the confidence shown to me by the Holy Father, as a Salesian and, above all, as a representative of the Salesian Family, which works with young people," he said. "We are a large family which has an educational-pastoral ministry with young people, a way of being with young people, and a style to accompany them. This is a great responsibility for me, and I ask you to accompany me with prayers. As the Children of Don Bosco, we must be faithful to our founder when it comes to a commission that comes from the Holy Father."
