Roberto Repole was born in the
Givoletto district of
Turin on 29 January 1967. His father was a municipal councilor in
Druento. Both his parents were originally from
Rapone in southern Italy. He completed his studies at the in Turin in 1986 and then obtained his bachelor's degree in theology from the Faculty of Turin in 1992. He was ordained a priest on 13 June 1992 by Cardinal
Giovanni Saldarini. To mark the fifth anniversary of Francis' pontificate, Repole served as editor of
La Teologia di Papa Francesco, an 11-volume series of analyses by theologians. Pope emeritus Benedict XVI expressed surprise at the inclusion of theologian , who, according to Benedict, had viciously attacked his teaching authority as pope. He has written extensively on church organization, synodality, and the priesthood. Of the theologian's role he once wrote: "Theology cannot afford the luxury of cryptic language. And to do this he has two paths to follow: always be of service to the concrete people of God and to their living faith and maintain a lively dialogue with the culture of the contemporary world." On 19 February 2022,
Pope Francis appointed Repole both archbishop of Turin and bishop of Susa. The appointment was a surprise in that his name had not been mentioned in press speculation about candidates for the Turin post, He is the first native of Turin to be named archbishop there since the appointment of
Agostino Richelmy in 1897 and the first graduate of the Turin Faculty of Theology named archbishop. He was installed in Susa on 8 May. On 7 December 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal, assigning him as a member of the order of cardinal priests with the title of
Gesù Divin Maestro alla Pineta Sacchetti. He participated as a
cardinal elector in the
2025 papal conclave that elected
Pope Leo XIV. ==Selected writings==