Pope Francis has appointed Prof. Roberto Zappalà, director general of the Gonzaga Institute in Milan, as consultant to the Dicastery for Culture and Education for the next five years.
A graduate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Milan, Zappalà was first a teacher of philosophy, science of education and history in state high schools, before taking up the chair of history and philosophy at the Gonzaga Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Milan in 1986.
In September 2008, he was appointed director general of the Gonzaga Institute, the first layman to receive the position of director in the District of Italy of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He was for many years a member of the FIDAE (Federation of Institutes of Educational Activities) Regional Council of Lombardy.
Author of essays and studies on education and the person, has published in specialist journals, he has collaborated and still collaborates with organisations and school pastoral offices of several dioceses, the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Holy See.
In December 2016, the Holy Father Francis appointed him as consultant to the Holy See’s Congregation for Catholic Education, and has been reappointed in 2022 for the new Dicastery for Culture and Education.