Archbishop Battaglia, 61, has been seen as a rising star in the Italian Church. Francis is occasionally known to cite prayers written by the archbishop.

The archbishop's appointment as a cardinal brings the number of new voting-age cardinals who will be created next month to 21. That follows the announcement of the Indonesian Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur that he was declining the pope's offer to make him a cardinal.

The Vatican gave no clear reason for the bishop refusing the pope's appointment, saying only that it was "motivated by his desire to continue growing in priestly life and in service to the Church and the people of God."

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Father Antonio Coluccia is known for his efforts to rescue young people from the drug trade.

Coluccia immediately vowed the assault won't interrupt his work.

"I will continue my fight which I am carrying out against the crime that controls the drug dealing squares ..." he said, referring to neighbourhoods long associated with mafia activity.

Coluccia's assailant, Sergio Del Prete, is a drug user with previous arrests for possession and damage to property, media reports say.

Reportedly, the 28-year-old from Belarus with a criminal record is currently under armed guard in hospital.

Police are now investigating to see if the man acted alone or was commissioned by those controlling the area's drug trade.

Two police officers were reportedly injured in the incident.

Helping addicts

The anti-mafia priest's way of engaging with addicts is to approach young people who serve as look-outs and street-level sellers to invite them to consider other ways of life.

He also leads regular "marches for legality" through the streets of the east Rome suburb, which is synonymous with the drug trade.

In 2012, Coluccia opened a house of welcome for young people seeking to abandon the drug trade or to recover from drug addiction.

He also runs a boxing club and gym to provide youth with alternative activities.

"I go into the peripheries, between cocaine and crack, to pray and to talk," Coluccia says.

"My church is the street."

Civic support

High-ranking Italian officials, including Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, have voiced their unwavering support for a priest believed to be the target of mafia reprisal due to his relentless crusade against drug trafficking in Rome.

Minister Piantedosi took proactive steps, directly calling Rome's chief of police to enquire about the well-being of the injured officer involved in the incident.

Salvini, the leader of Italy's right-wing Lega party, did not mince words in expressing his respect for the priest, saying his solidarity with "a man of the Church who fights all kinds of drugs to save young people."

Saluting the injured officer's courage, he expressed disdain for the attacker, condemning the "vile injured criminal."

Rome's Mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, communicated directly with the priest, echoing a city's collective support. He emphasised Rome's stance against the mafia and violence, declaring that "violence and mafia must be opposed by all means."

Sources

• Crux Now
• Wanted in Rome

The eight-member group will study the ex-communication of the mafia, offering support to bishops around the world Read more

Giuseppe Pignatone's appointment came two days after Vatican police raided the Apostolic Palace and seized documents and computers from the secretariat of state.

The raid included searches of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority (AIF), which is tasked with flagging possible money laundering and other suspicious financial transactions.

The Vatican press office had little to say about the raids.

It only said they were based on a report from the Vatican bank and auditor general's office about past financial operations.

Pignatone's appointment was announced just as a new scandal erupted over alleged financial wrongdoing in the heart of the Holy See.

The 70-year old prosecutor has spent 45 years of his life in the Italian judiciary fighting the mafia.

As Sicily's deputy prosecutor, Pignatone coordinated the investigation which, in 2006, led to the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano, who was "head of all the leaders" of the Sicilian mafia.

In 2008 as the prosecutor of the Republic of Reggio Calabria. Pignatone he attacked the Calabria-based crime group Ndrangheta.

Threats against him at that time included a rocket launcher being found pointing directly at the window of his office.

In 2012, the High Council of the Judiciary unanimously appointed him Prosecutor of the Republic of Rome.

In this capacity, he coordinated the Capital Mafia investigation, which uncovered the links between senior leaders of the Municipality of Rome and the Mafia.

He also led investigations into political corruption and organized crime as well as Italy's probe into the suspicious death in Egypt of an Italian graduate student.

Pignatone retired in May as chief prosecutor in Rome.

In his new role at the Vatican's criminal tribunal, he will lead all investigations into all crimes that occur on Vatican territory or involving Vatican diplomats.

The penal code is based on the Italian criminal code with elements of canon law.

One of the tribunal's most high-profile cases in recent years have involved the two "Vatileaks" scandals of leaked Holy See documents.

Another involved prosecuting the former president of the Vatican's children's hospital over financing for a cardinal's apartment renovations.

Yet another involved convicting a Vatican diplomat on child pornography possession charges.

More recently, Vatican prosecutors have recommended that two priests from the Vatican's youth seminary be prosecuted in a sexual abuse case involving young seminarians.

Pignatone's appointment, although planned for some time, was reportedly swiftly accelerated by the Pope.

The current investigations into the Secretariat of State and the Financial Information Authority of the Holy See will be one of the first cases Pignatone will have to deal with.

Source

• La Croix
• AP News
• Image: La Croix International