it The mandate
“To foster ecclesial exchanges, paths of biblical and pastoral formation for priests and lay people through the building of living bonds between the dioceses and the Church of Jerusalem. To gather and enhance experiences, collaborations and synergies, with a view to a wider ecclesial service in the biblical places (Jerusalem, Ephesus, etc.), in the perspective of evangelical consolation.”
With these words the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem describes the service entrusted to Fr Valerio. Casa Kerigma, in Jerusalem and Ephesus, is the concrete instrument of that mandate.
Who he is
Fr Valerio Chiovaro was born in Reggio Calabria on 28 April 1971 and was ordained a priest on 28 June 1997. A chemist by first training, he studied Sacred Scripture at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem (licentiates in Biblical Theology, 2000, and in Biblical Sciences and Archaeology, 2003) and in 2026 obtained a doctorate in Global Studies with a thesis on consolation in anthropology.
On 27 September 2001, with four university students, he founded in Reggio Calabria the association Attendiamoci, of which he was President until 2020 and is now Spiritual Assistant: a choice of field for “ordinary” young people, in the conviction that no young person is ordinary but special, capable of choosing the good if they meet the right people.
In Jerusalem and Ephesus
- Since September 2022 he is a fidei donum priest with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and head of Casa Kerigma, for the Patriarchate, the Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova and Attendiamoci.
- Since 1 January 2025 he is head of Casa Kerigma Ephesus, in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Izmir.
- Since 15 June 2025 he is pastoral assistant for priests and lay people on temporary mission in the Patriarchate, appointed by Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
- From the academic year 2026/2027 he teaches at the Studium Theologicum Jerosolymitanum (Pontifical University Antonianum) a seminar in dogmatic theology that takes Jerusalem as its hermeneutical space.
- Since September 2026 he accompanies, in the educational fraternity Consolatio, two young men in formation towards the priesthood.
He has been an official guide of the Holy Land since 1998. Between 1995 and 2003 he worked with Fr Michele Piccirillo OFM on excavation campaigns at Mount Nebo and on conservation work at the Holy Sepulchre, Calvary, Bethphage and Gethsemane.
Teaching and research
Adjunct professor at the “Mediterranea” University of Reggio Calabria since 2003 (relational skills, soft skills, cultural anthropology), he has taught biblical Hebrew and exegesis of the Wisdom books at the “Pius XI” theological institute and at the ISSR “V. Zoccali”. He has been Visiting Fellow at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute (2024), Visiting Research Scholar at New York University (2024) and Visiting Researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2025).
Books
Published by Edizioni Attendiamoci, with royalties donated to the Association (titles in Italian): Questa è l’ora dell’Amore (2026, foreword by Rino Fisichella); L’amore non sia ipocrita (2021, foreword by Angelo Scola); Dove cielo e terra si baciano (2nd ed. 2021, foreword by Pierbattista Pizzaballa); Apprendere lungo la via (2012); San Paolo, costruttore di Mediterraneo (2009). Forthcoming in 2027: Allarga lo spazio della tua tenda (foreword by Leonardo Sandri) and, with Terra Santa Edizioni, Vivere accanto a Giuda (foreword by Pierbattista Pizzaballa).
To write to him
For the programmes in Jerusalem and Ephesus, to propose an experience or to be put in touch with Fr Valerio: valeriochiovaro@attendiamoci.it.
