Pope announces 13 new Cardinals for the missionary Church

After reciting the Angelus in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Francis announced a consistory to be held on 5 October for the nomination of 10 new Cardinals. He said that the places where these new Cardinals come from express the missionary vocation of the Church as she continues to announce the merciful love of God to every person on earth. After reading their names, the Pope asked everyone to pray for the new Cardinals so that, confirming their adhesion to Christ, they might help in his ministry as Bishop of Rome for the good of all the faithful Holy People of God.

The names of the new Cardinals are:

1. Bishop Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, mccj – President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue – was born in Seville (Spain) in 1952. He professed final vows as a Combini Missionary in 1980 and was ordained a priest the same year, beginning his priestly life as a missionary in Egypt and Sudan until 2002. In 1982 he received a licentiate in Arab and Islamic studies at PISAI in Rome and in 2000, a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the University of Granada. He was professor of Islamic studies in Khartoum and in Cairo, and at the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic studies where he eventually became Dean until 2012. He has led various interreligious meetings in Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Mozambique). On 20 June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI nominated him Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He was consecrated Bishop in March of 2016 with the titular see of Luperciana. This past 25 May he was nominated President of the Pontifical council for Interreligious Dialogue. He has published books and articles in international journals. He knows Spanish, Arabic, English, French and Italian.

2. Archbishop José Tolentino Medonça – Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church – was born at Madeira in Portugal in 1965. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Funchal in 1990, and received a licentiate in Theology from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon in 1989, and a licentiate in Biblical Studies from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome in 1992, followed by a Doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in 2004. He then became a seminary professor at Funchal, then Rector of the Pontifical Portuguese College in Rome, then Vice Rector and Professor of  Universidade Católica Portuguesa, as well as being a visiting professor at the Università Cattoliche of Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro as well as the Faculties of Philosophy and Theology at Belo Horizonte in Brazil. In 2011 he became a consultor for the Pontifical Council of Culture. On 26 June 2018, Pope Francis nominated him Archivist and Librarian of Holy Roman church, elevating him soon after to the dignity of Archbishop with the titular see of Suava. He has published numerous volumes and articles of a theological and exegetical nature, as well as several works of poetry.

3. Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo – Archbishop of Jakarta – is originally from Java, born in Sedayn in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1976. He obtained a degree in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in 1981 and was a professor of Sacred Scripture and Rector of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology “Wedabakti” of Yogyakarta. He was nominated Archbishop of Semarang in 1997 and was transferred to Jakarta as Coadjutor in 2009, becoming Archbishop on 2010. Since 2006 he has also been the Military Ordinary for Indonesia. He is the first member of the diocesan clergy to be named Archbishop of Jakarta. He is a current member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and is the President of the Episcopal Conference of Indonesia.

4. Archbishop Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez – Archbishop de San Cristóbal of Habana – was born in Camagüey in 1948. After finishing his studies in philosophy and theology at the Seminary of San Basilio de El Cobre and the Major Seminary of San Carlos y San Ambrosio in Havana, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1972. He served in parishes in Morón and Ciego de Avila before becoming pastor in parishes in Jatibonico and Morón, and then Vicar of what at that time was the Vicariate of Ciego-Morón. In 1989 he was named pastor of Florida and founded and became the Director of School for Missionaries in the Diocese of Camagüey. He was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Camagüey with the titular see of Gummi in Proconsolare in 1997, and became its Archbishop in 2002. On 26 April 2016, Pope Francis nominated him Metropolitan Archbishop of San Cristóbal de La Habana.

5. Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, o.f.m. cap – Archbishop of Kinshasa – was born in 1960 in Boto, in the Diocese of Molegbe. After completing courses in Philosophy at the Seminary of Bwamanda, he studied Theology at the Saint Eugène de Mazenod Institute and professed first vows as a Cappuchin Franciscan in 1981, followed by perpetual profession in 1987. He was ordained a priest in 1988 after which he graduated from the Accademia Alfonsiana with a degree in Moral Theology. He served as pastor in Bobito, Professor at the Catholic University of Kinshasa, then as a Major Superior within the Capuchin community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also served as the President of the National Assembly of Major Superiors (ASUMA) and of the Circumscriptions of the Friars Minor Cappuchins in Africa (CONCAU). He became Bishop of Bokungu-Ikela in 2005 and afterward became Apostolic Administrator of Kole, and President of the Episcopal Commission “Justice and Peace”, Apostolic Administrator of Mbandaka-Bikoro and then its Archbishop in 2016. In June 2016 he became Vice President of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO) and on 6 February 2018, Pope Francis nominated him Coadjutor Archbishop of Kinshasa. In November of the same year, he became it’s Archbishop. 

6. Archbishop Jean-Claude Höllerich, sj – Archbishop of Luxembourg – was born in 1958 in Differdange in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. His seminary formation took place in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1981, he entered the Jesuits and received his formation in the Jesuit Province of Southern Belgium and Luxembourg. After his novitiate at Namur and two years of practicum in Luxemburg (1983-85), he went to Japan where he studied the Japanese language and culture. From 1985-89 he studied theology at Tokyo’s Sophia University and finished his theological studies in Frankfurt (Germany) with a licentiate. On 21 April 1990 he was ordained a Jesuit priest and continued his studies of German and German literature at the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich, receiving a licentiate in 1994. He carried out various pastoral ministries with Jeunesse étudiante Chrétienne and Communautés Vie Chrétienne in Luxembourg, as a teacher at the French Vauban in Luxembourg, as a spiritual director of seminarians at the Major Seminary of Luxembourg, and Vocation Director. In 1994 he began teaching German and French as well as European studies at Tokyo’s Sophia University and in 1999 became the student Chaplain there. He became Rector of the Jesuit community there as well as Vice-Rector of the University for General and Student Affairs. He also served as Delegate of the Japanese Episcopal Conference for the preparation and participation in World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005. On 12 July 2011, Pope Benedict XVI nominated him Archbishop of Luxembourg.

7. Bishop Alvaro L. Ramazzini Imeri – Bishop of Huehuetenamgo – was born in Guatemala City in 1947 and was ordained a priest in 1971 for the Archdiocese of Guatemala after which he received a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He became Professor and Rector of the Major National Seminary of Guatemala and Pastor of one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese of Guatemala. He was ordained Bishop of San Marcos by St John Paul II in January 1989. He has served in various positions within the Episcopal Conference of Guatemala, including President from 2006-08. He participated in the CELAM Assembly in Aparecide in 2007 and in the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for America in 1997. Currently, he presides over the Commission for Social Communication and the Pastoral Penitentiary Commission. Pope Benedict XVI nominated him as Bishop of Huehuetenango in 2012.

8. Archbishop Matteo Zuppi – Archbishop of Bologna – was born in Rome in 1955 and was ordained for the Diocese of Palestrina in 1981 after pursuing seminary studies at the diocesan seminary of Palestrina and the Lateran University. He subsequently studied Philosophy at the University of Rome where he became incardinated in 1988. In 2006, he received the honorary title of Chaplain of His Holiness. His various assignments have been: Rector of the Church of the Holy Cross (alla Lungara) from 1983-2012, Member of the Presbyteral Council from 1995 to 2012, Assistant Pastor of Santa Maria in Trastevere from 1981-2000 and then Pastor from 2000 to 2010, Prefect of the 3^rd Prefecture of Rome from 2005-2010, Assistant Ecclesiastic General of the Community of St Egidio from 2000 to 2012, Parish of Sts Simon and Jude parish in Torre Angela from 2010 to 2012, and from 2011 to 2012 Prefect of the 17^th Prefecture of Rome. He became an Auxiliary Bishop of Rome in 2012 with the titular see of Villanova. On 27 October 2015, Pope Francis nominated him Metropolitan Archbishop of Bologna.

9. Archbishop Cristóbal López Romero, sdb – Archbishop of Rabat – was born in 1952 in Vélez-Rubio of the Diocese of Almería in Spain. He entered the Salesians in 1964 and studied Philosophy and Theology in the Salesian Seminary in Barcelona. He professed first vows as a Salesian in 1968, followed by solemn profession in 1974, after which he was ordained a priest in 1979. In 1982 he obtained a licentiate in Information Sciences in the School of Journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He has carried out the following assignments: from 1979-1984 pastoral ministry toward the marginalized in Barcellona; from 1984-1986, youth ministry at the Salesian College in Asunción in Paraguay; from 1986-1992, as provincial delegate for pastoral vocation work in Asunción; from 1991-1992, : Director of the Salesian Bulletin of Asunción; from 1992-1994 he was a pastor in Asunción; from 1994-2000 he was Provincial of the Salesian’s province in Paraguay; from 2000-2002 he was the Director of the Community and ministered pastorally and as a teacher at the College in Asunción; from 2002-2003 he was Minister of the Paraguayan Missions; from 2003-2011, head of pastoral parish and school ministry in the Professional Formation Center  at Kénitra, Morocco; from 2011-2014 he was provincial of the Salesian Province in Bolivia; in 2014 he became Provincial of the Salesian Province of Mary Help of Christians in Spain. On 29 December 2017, Pope Francis nominated him Archbishop of Rabat, Morocco

10. Father Michael Czerny, sj – Undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development – was born in the formerCzechoslovakia in 1946 and entered the Society of Jesus in 1963. In 1973 he was ordained a priest of the Canadian Province of Jesuits and in 1978 obtained a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Chicago. In 1979, he founded the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice and directed it until 1989 when he was transferred to San Salvador after the assassination of the Jesuits at the Central American University where he became Vice Rector of the University and Director of the Institute for Human Rights. From 1992-2002 he carried out the role as Secretary for Social Justice at the General Curia of the Jesuits and afterwards founded and directed the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN), a network sustained by the Jesuits in Africa committed to respond to the HIS/AIDS epidemic there. Beginning in 2005 he taught at Hekima College at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, collaborating with the Episcopal Conference of Kenya. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI nominated him an expert for the Second Synod of African Bishops. Since 2010 he has been a consultor for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. and in December 2016, Pope Francis nominated him Undersecretary of the Migrant and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. In October 2018 he was a Member of the Synod of Bishops on Young People and in 2019 he became a special secretary for the Synod on the Amazon.

11. Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald – Former Apostolic Nuncio of Egypt – was born in Walsall in 1937 and entered the Society of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) in 1950 and was ordained a priest in 1961. In 1987 he was nominated secretary to what was then the Secretariat for Non-Christians which became the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in 1988. In 1991 he was ordained Bishop and received the titular see of Nepte. In 2002 he was nominated President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and was elevated to the rank of Archbishoop. St John Paul II then nominated him as a Member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the Unity of Christians and in 2004 as a Member of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Pope Benedict XVI nominated him as Apostolic Nuncio of Egypt in 2006 where he remained until he resigned in 2012, having reached the age limit.

12. Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevičius, sj – Archbishop Emeritus of Kaunas – was born in 1938 in Gudonys in the region of Lazdijai in Lituania and was ordained a priest in 1962. He then carried out various assignments as parochial vicar of Alytus, Lazdijai, Kudirkos Naumiestis, Prienai, and Simnas. In 1968 he entered the Society of Jesus. He was arrested in 1983 for anti-soviet propaganda and agitating the people and spent 10 years in the prison work camps of Perm and Mordovia. After being exiled to Siberia until his release in 1988, he was nominated Rector of the Interdiocesan Seminary of Kaunas in 1990. He was consecrated auxiliary Bishop of Kaunas in 1991 and became its Archbishop in 1996. From 1999-2002 and from 2005-2014 he served as the President of the Episcopal Conference of Lithuania, and as its Vice President from 2002-2005. Having reached the age limit, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Archbishop in 2015.

13. Bishop Eugenio Dal Corso, psdp – Bishop Emeritus of Benguela – was born in 1939 in the Italian province of Verona. He decided to become a missionary due to his studies at the Don Calabria Institute in Verona. After he was ordained a priest in 1963, he was sent to Rome to complete his studies in Dogmatic Theology. While studying, he carried out pastoral ministry in the parish of the Madonna di Campagna in Verona and subsequently in Naples. In 1975 he began his life as a  missionary. Argentina was his first destination, in Laferrere, a province of Buenos Aires where he remained for 11 years until his transfer to Luanda in Angola where he dedicated himself to the weakest populations. In 1995 he was nominated as Coadjutor Bishop of Saurino and in 1997 became its Bishop. On 12 February 2008 he was nominated Bishop of Benguela where he remained until he resigned because of reaching the age limit.