Biography of His Reverend Highness Giovanni Luca Pietro II

His Most Reverend Highness Giovanni Luca II, Prince-Abbot of Sabourg, Patriarch-elect of Italy, born Monsignor Gianluca de Lucia, was born in Bordighera on May 27, 1978. He graduated with a degree in Accounting in 1997 and continued his law studies at the University of Imperia.

In 2013, he earned a degree in theology, thanks to the support of the European Deanery of the Polish National Catholic Church, an American Old Catholic Church of Polish origin that has been in sacramental exchange with the Roman Catholic Church since 2004 by the will of Saint John Paul II.

A passionate art enthusiast, in 2013 he became an academic senator of the renowned Gentium Pro Pace Academy, founded in the Vatican in 1967 and now under Italian law.

A former Carabiniere Auxiliary with a Medal of Merit, he was a political activist in Ventimiglia, a former city councilor, and a former mayoral candidate. He finally had the privilege of participating in the 2013 Italian Chamber of Deputies election.

In 2001, he began working in the real estate sector in the Principality of Monaco, culminating in his role as managing partner of a well-known Monegasque real estate agency from 2012 to 2023.

From 2011 to 2022, he was a member of the National Association of Collaborators and Ministers and Parliamentarians of France (ANCMP).

From 2015 to 2019, he also managed three companies in West Africa in the mining, transportation, and renewable technology sectors.

A devout Catholic, in 2011 he joined the Deanery of the Polish National Catholic Church in Italy to establish a mission in Ventimiglia (IM), of which he assumed the presidency. The community grew, and in 2018, a new mission was established in the Principality of Monaco, authorized by the Minister of State as a legally recognized religious institution, called the “Polish National Catholic Church in Monaco.”

A philanthropist and charitable worker, from 2015 to 2019 he served as Vice President of the Monegasque association “Grand Priory of Russia – Commandery of Monaco,” an Orthodox Order of Malta, currently ecumenical.

Passionate about history and theology, he was fascinated by Seborga and the ancient Principality of Sabourg, so he decided to conduct historical-legal research on the evolution of Seborga and its Abbey Principality. In May 2019, he published an online historical study, available at: https://castrumsepulchri.org

On September 29, 2019, he involved a group of enthusiasts in the re-establishment of the Monastic Order of Seborga and its Abbey, drafting a monastic rule inspired by the Benedictine Order. Together with nine other religious, he took a vow of obedience and moderation, following the Divine Liturgy celebrated by the Reverend Father Gastone Bernacchi, secretary of the Italian Deanery of the P.N.C.C. and Vice President of the Monegasque religious body, the P.N.C.C. in Monaco. He was consecrated an oblate and elected Abbot Commendatory of Seborga.

The Monastic Order of Seborga has been anchored since its inception in the Monegasque religious body “P.N.C.C. a Monaco,” but since its inception it has assumed a hybrid theological form that welcomes Christians, Catholics, and Orthodox, and is open to dialogue with all Christians worldwide.

On November 1, 2019, the Abbot Commendatory of Seborga had the privilege of receiving ordination to the diaconate, along with two other Oblate brothers. He subsequently received ordination to the priesthood in order to perfect his mission.

On December 28, 2019, His Most Reverend Highness Jean-Luc was crowned the 91st Prince-Abbot of Sabourg by a high-ranking Orthodox prelate. On this occasion, he adopted the new Constitution of the Principality of Sabourg, definitively repealing the ancient constitution of 1261 and subsequent amendments. Following the vote, he swore in the Secretaries of State and the new members of the Council of Dicasteries (Government of Sabourg), effectively reconstituting the principal institutions of the Principality of Sabourg.

In order to deepen his theological studies, he conducted a specific study of Orthodoxy, particularly the canons of the First Great Councils of the Church of Christ, adopting the Orthodox confession as a life choice, in compliance with the canons of the Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, Chalcedon, and the Fourth Council of Constantinople.

The Prince-Abbot recognizes the regularity of married clergy, particularly bishops, who, unlike the Chalcedonian churches, whether Catholic or Orthodox, are composed of monks with the obligation of celibacy.

On February 20, 2022, he was incardinated into another Orthodox Christian jurisdiction and consecrated Bishop by His Eminence Theodore, Bishop of Heraclea and Primate of the Autonomous Italian Orthodox Church known as Cisalpine Gaul, a direct emanation of the Patriarchate of Kiev, acquiring regular Apostolic Succession.

On February 25, 2023, he was incardinated into the Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the United States, a direct emanation of the UAOC, and officially recognized as Prince-Abbot Archbishop of Sabourg.

On January 20, 2023, he was incardinated into the Synod of the Orthodox Church in Italy, founded in 1991 by Archbishop Antonio De Rosso. On the same date, the Synod elected him Substitute Metropolitan of Italy.

Following the resignation of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Italy, on August 16, 2023, he assumed interim leadership of the Church until August 14, 2024, when he was elected Patriarch of Italy.

In June 2025, he was appointed Pro-Rector of the Gentium Pro Pace Academy.