In late April 2021, Bishop Ronald A. Hicks announced the appointment of David Salvato as chancellor for the Diocese of Joliet.

As chancellor, Salvato will advise Bishop Hicks and diocesan officials on issues related to canon law. He will also record the ecclesiastical acts, decrees and dispensations issued by Bishop Hicks, as well as oversee the diocesan archives.

Salvato has worked since 2011 as a canon lawyer for the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In that role, he led two teams that oversaw the investigation of nearly 200 marriage annulment cases each year.

He also has taught at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, as an adjunct professor; worked as an English translator for L’Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of the Vatican City State; and served as the director of the marriage and family life program at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Centennial, Colorado.

Salvato holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, where he also obtained bachelor’s degrees in theology and philosophy. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of San Diego.