Anthony Pezzotta

Dr. Anthony "Tony" Pezzotta (1935–2014) was born in Bergamo, Italy, and entered a Salesian seminary at age eleven. After fifteen years of study in Italy, England, Spain, and Germany, he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1961 and later served in the Philippines as Director of Salesian Schools and Seminaries. In 1974, after years of wrestling with what he found in the Scriptures, he trusted Jesus Christ alone for his salvation — leaving the priesthood but, as he often said, finding everything when he found Christ.

He went on to earn a master's degree from Denver Seminary and returned to the Philippines with his wife, Zita, serving as a missionary from 1976 to 1999 through evangelism, discipleship, and theological training. Wonderfully gifted with fluency in ten languages, Tony later directed ethnic ministries for the Conservative Baptist Association of Southern California, working joyfully alongside Hispanic and Asian pastors until illness ended his public ministry in 2009.

Truth Encounter: Catholicism and the Holy Scriptures is his life's written legacy — the story of his own search for truth and a gracious, Scripture-centered examination of the questions he was asked most. He is remembered by family, students, and thousands whom he encouraged toward a truth encounter of their own.