[2] In 1576 his uncle resigned the archbishopric in his favour, and he was appointed archbishop of Crete by Pope Gregory XIII on 6 February 1576.

Lorenzo Vitturi used to live in Crete, and during the plague of 1591 he behaved heroically by bringing the sacraments to the sicks.

Lorenzo Vitturi on the other hand tried to enforce the new rules of the Council of Trent to the island, invited Latin preachers who hurt the religiosity of the Greeks, and gave public prominence to the Papal bull in Coena Domini, which was instead opposed by the Venetian government.

On the Feast of Corpus Christi of the same year, the officers of the government and a Greek crowd attempted to join the archbishop's procession to pray.

[4] Upon request of the Doge of Venice, on 16 December 1595 Pope Clement VIII suspended the excommunications issued by Vitturi,[5] and later canceled them.