Born in 1962 in San Cataldo, in the province of Caltanissetta, Fr Viviano attended the Novitiate in the city of Lanuvio, in the province of Rome, where he made his first profession in 1979. In June 1991 he then received the priestly ordination in his home town.
Over the years he has held numerous positions, including Councilor at the "San Giuseppe Cafasso" community of the UPS, from 1996 to 1997. Back in Sicily, he was Councilor at the "San Tommaso" community of Messina and then Vicar in "San Luigi", also in Messina. In 2013 he was back in Rome, as a Councilor at the work of San Callisto.
From 2016 he returned to Sicily again where he held other positions, including that of Provincial Delegate for the Salesian Family, until his recent appointment as Rector of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. In the meantime, Fr Viviano will continue to be a teacher at the “San Tommaso” Theological Center in Messina.
The community of San Gregorio welcomed the new appointment of Fr Viviano with great joy. “Our Dear Fr Michele Viviano - wrote the Salesian Cooperators of San Gregorio - will continue his journey always aimed at obedience and for the good of the whole Salesian Family. You have always been an example of life for all of us.”
