Marcello Semeraro
Marcello Semeraro | |
|---|---|
| Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints | |
 Semeraro in 2017 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| See | Santa Maria in Domnica |
| Appointed | 15 October 2020 |
| Predecessor | Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
| Other post(s) | |
| Previous post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 8 September 1971 byFrancesco Minerva |
| Consecration | 29 September 1998 byCosmo Francesco Ruppi |
| Created cardinal | 28 November 2020 byFrancis |
| Rank | Cardinal-Deacon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marcello Semeraro 22 December 1947 |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Lateran University |
| Motto | In spiritu seminare |
| Coat of arms |  |
Marcello Semeraro(born 22 December 1947) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints since October 2020. He was previouslyBishop of Albanoand secretary to thegroup of cardinalsnamed byPope Francisto advise him.
Pope Francis raised him to the rank ofcardinalon 28 November 2020.
Biography
[edit]Semeraro was born inMonteroni di Lecce,Province of Lecce,Italy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 8 September 1971. He received his Doctor of Theology degree in 1980 from thePontifical Lateran University.On 25 July 1998 he was namedBishop of Oria.He was consecrated on 29 September 1998 by ArchbishopCosmo Francesco Ruppiwith Archbishops Domenico Caliandro and Donato Negro as co-consecrators.
He taught at thePontifical Lateran Universityin 2001.Pope John Paul IIchose him as Special Secretary of the 2001Synod of Bishops,[1]which considered the role of the bishops in contemporary society. That Synod's final statement pointed to social injustice as the root cause of terrorism and decried third world debt and "the enduring drama of hunger and extreme poverty". Semeraro commented: "There is a strong will to dismantle the image of bishops as men of power and to reinstitute the image of bishops as men of service."[2]
On 1 October 2004 he was named Bishop of Albano.
He is a Consultant to theCongregation for the Clergyand theItalian Episcopal Conference(IEC), and a member of the IEC Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith.
On 4 May 2007 he was elected president of the administrative board of the IEC newspaperAvvenire,in place of CardinalAngelo Bagnascoof Genoa, who had been elected president of the IEC.
In June 2010, he became president of the IEC Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith.
On 13 April 2013 Pope Francis appointed him secretary of the commission of cardinals appointed to advise him on the government of the Church and the organization of the Roman Curia.[3]
On 4 November 2013, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Exarchic Monastery andTerritorial Abbacy of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata.[4]
In a 2017 interview, Semeraro described the work of the Council of Cardinals: listening, reflecting, and verifying. The Council, he said, listens to the contributions of the Church; reflects on those contributions, and looks into the details of them, considering the best way of going forward. It then makes proposals to the Pope; as Semeraro explained, the Council has a consultative role.[5]
On 15 October 2020, Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of theCongregation for the Causes of Saints.[6]
On 25 October 2020, Pope Francis announced he would raise him to the rank ofcardinalat a consistory scheduled for 28 November 2020.[7]At that consistory, Francis made him Cardinal-Deacon ofSanta Maria in Domnica.[8]On 16 December he was named a member of theCongregation for Oriental Churchesand theDicastery for Communications.[9]
Works
[edit]- (in Italian)Mistero, comunione e missione - Manuale di ecclesiologia(Bologna, 2004)[10]
- (in Italian)Dalla Parte del Padre(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010)[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"X Ordinary General Assembly (30 September-27 October 2001)".Synod of Bishops.Holy See. Archived fromthe originalon 19 February 2011.Retrieved14 April2013.
- ^Henneberger, Melinda (28 October 2001)."Social Justice And Terror Offer Bishops Tough Issue".New York Times.Retrieved14 April2013.
- ^O'Connell, Gerard (14 April 2013)."Pope Francis sets up a group of eight cardinals to advise him".La Stampa: Vatican Insider.Retrieved14 April2013.
- ^"Rinunce e Nomine, 04.11.2013"(Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 November 2013.Retrieved24 October2020.
- ^Interview with Council Secretary
- ^"Nomina del Prefetto della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi".Bolletino sala Stampa della Santa Sede.15 October 2020.Retrieved15 October2020.
- ^O'Connell, Gerard (25 October 2020)."Pope Francis names 13 new cardinals, including Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington D.C."America.Retrieved25 October2020.
- ^"Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli, 28.11.2020".Holy See Press Office(in Italian). 28 November 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 28 November 2020.Retrieved28 November2020.
- ^"Resignations and Appointments, 16.12.2020"(Press release). Holy See Press Office. 16 December 2020.Retrieved16 December2020.
- ^"Nota al testo di M. Semeraro," Mistero, comunione e missione ""(in Italian). La Casa di Miriam Torino. 27 April 2012.Retrieved15 April2013.
- ^Dalla Parte del Padre(in Italian). Libreria del Santo.Retrieved15 April2013.
External links
[edit]
- "Semeraro Card. Marcello".Holy See Press Office.Archivedfrom the original on 29 November 2020.
