On October 12, 2025, the liturgical memorial of Saint Carlo Acutis—whose mortal remains rest in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore–Sanctuary of the Spogliazione in the city of Assisi, Italy, seat of the Umbrian Episcopal Conference—the Delegation of Umbria of the Royal Commission for Italy of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George was officially established by decree of the President, H.E. Prince Flavio Borghese, Prince of Sulmona and Montecompatri, Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice.

The decision was made in light of the powers conferred upon him by the Grand Master, HRH Prince Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria, Count of Caserta, and Head of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies; the living faith and vigorous charitable and cultural activities carried out over time by the confrères and consoeurs of Umbria under the attentive guidance of the Bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia, H.E. the Most Reverend Francesco Antonio Soddu, Secretary of the Umbrian Episcopal Conference, and the Constantinian Chaplains of Umbria; as well as the exploratory mandate entrusted to and successfully completed by the Lieutenant for Central Italy, H.E. Ambassador Alfredo Bastianelli, Gentleman of His Holiness, Knight Grand Cross of Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star, who has also been appointed Acting Delegate for Umbria.

The Territory and the Reference Church

The Delegation of Umbria extends over the territory of the Ecclesiastical Region of Umbria, which includes the civil region of Umbria and certain areas of Lazio and the Marche. It comprises eight dioceses:

  • The Archdiocese of Perugia–Città della Pieve, with its suffragan dioceses of Assisi–Nocera Umbra–Gualdo Tadino, Città di Castello, Foligno, and Gubbio;

  • The Archdiocese of Spoleto–Norcia;

  • The Dioceses of Orvieto–Todi and Terni–Narni–Amelia (previously under the Delegation of Tuscia and Sabina), both immediately subject to the Holy See.

The reference church of the Umbria Delegation is the Co-Cathedral of the Diocese of Terni–Narni–Amelia, dedicated to Saint Firmina, the young daughter of the Roman prefect Calpurnius, who lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. The church was built in 872 on the summit of the hill known as the sacrum verticem of Amelia.

In 1629, a vast fire destroyed the original building, which was subsequently rebuilt in Baroque style. The interior follows a Latin cross plan, with a single nave and a deep apsidal presbytery. Along the nave, covered by a barrel vault adorned with frescoes, open five chapels on each side.

The Acting Delegate

Ambassador Alfredo Bastianelli, born in Rome on January 26, 1951, is married and has three children. He is a Gentleman of His Holiness, Chancellor of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and Lieutenant for Central Italy of the Royal Commission for Italy of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George.

He studied law at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. Over the course of his diplomatic career, he has held important posts within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions in Canada, Brazil, Mozambique, Indonesia, and the European Union. He served as Ambassador to Angola (2001–2005), Cyprus (2009–2012), and Belgium (2013–2015), during which time he also directed the Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels.

In addition to his roles as Gentleman of His Holiness and Knight Grand Cross of Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George, he is a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the Order of the Crown, the Order of Independence, and the Order of Malta’s Order pro Merito Melitensi.

The last photograph above shows Ambassador Alfredo Bastianelli.