Angelo De Donatis | |
|---|---|
| Major Penitentiary of theApostolic Penitentiary | |
 Cardinal De Donatis in 2018 | |
| Church | |
| Appointed | 6 April 2024 |
| Predecessor | Mauro Piacenza (Major Penitentiary) andAgostino Vallini (Vicar of Rome ) |
| Successor | Baldassare Reina (Vicar of Rome) |
| Other post |
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| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 12 April 1980 by Antonio Rosario Mennonna |
| Consecration | 9 November 2015 by Pope Francis |
| Created cardinal | 28 June 2018 by Pope Francis |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Angelo De Donatis (1954-01-04)4 January 1954 (age 71) |
| Motto | Nihil caritate dulcius (Latin for 'Nothing is sweeter than love') |
| Coat of arms | .svg) |
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Angelo De Donatis (born 4 January 1954) is anItalian Catholic prelate who has served asMajor Penitentiary since 2024. He wasCardinal Vicar (officially Vicar General of His Holiness) and Archpriest of theArchbasilica of St. John Lateran from 2017 to 2024.
Prior to his appointment as Cardinal Vicar, De Donatis was anauxiliary bishop of theDiocese of Rome since 2015.
Angelo De Donatis was born on 4 January 1954 inCasarano, acomune in theProvince of Lecce and the Italian region ofApulia. He attended the seminary ofTaranto and thePontifical Roman Major Seminary. While inRome, he studied philosophy at thePontifical Lateran University and theology at thePontifical Gregorian University, where he earned aLicentiate of Sacred Theology in moral theology.[1]
On 12 April 1980, De Donatis was ordained a priest in the Church of San Domenico inCasarano in theDiocese of Nardò-Gallipoli by BishopAntonio Rosario Mennonna. He then taught religion at the Church of San Saturnino in Rome, of which he later becamevicar. He wasincardinated in theDiocese of Rome on 28 November 1983.[1]
From 1989 to 1991, De Donatis was thearchivist of the Secretary of theCollege of Cardinals.[2] He became the spiritual director of the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary, where he served until 2003, when he was appointed a parish priest at theBasilica of San Marco Evangelista al Campidoglio in Rome[3] and an assistant for the National Association of Relatives of Clergy.[4] He also served as the director of the clergy of theVicariate of Rome from 1990 to 1996. He then became a member of thepastoral council and thecollege of consultors of the Diocese of Rome.[2]
De Donatis was admitted as a knight to theEquestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1989. On 10 April 1990, he was appointed aChaplain of His Holiness, receiving the title ofmonsignor.[5]
In 2017 he was a spiritual assistant to the Don Andrea Santoro Association, which marks the anniversary of the assassination in Turkey in 2006 ofAndrea Santoro, an Italian priest and seminary classmate of De Donatis.[6] De Donatis has maintained a connection with his hometown by leading spiritual exercises annually during the summer at the Crypt of the Crucifix in Casarano.[7]
He was among seven Roman priests chosen by ArchbishopGiovanni Angelo Becciu to eat lunch with Pope Francis after theChrism Mass in 2013, just two weeks afterthe Pope's election.[8] In October 2013, Pope Francis, who had met De Donatis only once at that lunch, chose him to preach the 2014Lenten spiritual exercises of theRoman Curia, an assignment that for fifty years had been given to acardinal or well-known theologian.[8][1]
| Styles of Angelo De Donatis | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Religious style | Cardinal) |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
De Donatis was appointed byPope Francis on 14 September 2015 theTitular Bishop ofMottola and anAuxiliary Bishop of Rome, where he was responsible for the training of the clergy.[10] He was consecrated a bishop in theArchbasilica of St. John Lateran on 9 November 2015. Pope Francis was the principalconsecrator, while CardinalAgostino Vallini, the Vicar General of Rome, and CardinalBeniamino Stella, the Prefect of theCongregation for the Clergy, acted as co-consecrators. De Donatis adopted hiscoat of arms with the episcopal motto "nihil caritate dulcius", a phrase taken fromSaint Ambrose, which translates from the Latin as "nothing is sweeter than charity".[11]
On 29 April 2016, De Donatis was appointed therector of theChurch of San Sebastiano al Palatino in Rome. On 6 June of that year, he oversaw the jubilee of priests during theExtraordinary Jubilee of 2016 in the Diocese of Rome and was involved in the organization of the jubilee activities in theDiocese of Trapani. He also led theConfessio Vitae during the jubilee year in theArchdiocese of Milan.[12]
In September 2016, De Donatis publishedNulla è più dolce dell'amore (Nothing is Sweeter than Love), a collection of twenty reflections on the various forms of mercy as interpreted through the Bible.[13]
On 26 May 2017, Pope Francis appointed De Donatis theVicar General of Rome andArchpriest of theArchbasilica of St. John Lateran,[14] elevating him as well to the rank ofarchbishop.[15][16][2] The Vicar General serves asde facto bishop of Rome on behalf of the pope. Pope Francis ignored the rule that the vicar general of Rome must be a cardinal.[a] De Donatis is the first person since the sixteenth century to be named Vicar General when not acardinal.[19][b] As Vicar General he servesex officio as Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University.[24] At the same time, he was made theapostolic administrator of theSuburbicarian Diocese of Ostia.[25]
On 20 May 2018,Pope Francis announced he would make De Donatis acardinal at the next consistory.[26] At theconsistory on 28 June 2018, he was created Cardinal-Priest ofSan Marco,[27] the same church where he served as a parish priest fifteen years earlier.
De Donatis was the apostolic administrator of theUkrainian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Italy from 11 July 2019[28] to 24 October 2020.[29]
On 12 March 2020, when public Masses were already prohibited in Italy, De Donatis ordered Rome's churches closed to the public. CardinalKonrad Krajewski and others opened churches anyway. On 13 March he ordered that parish churches could open provided they took appropriate measures to prevent the spread of theCOVID-19 virus. He said he spoke with Pope Francis before issuing each of those orders. In a letter to the diocese he wrote: "The risk of health care structures collapsing is evident.... We can contain this tragic eventuality only by applying measures to stop the contagion and allow the national health service to reorganize.... Draw close to one another — not physically, but with solidarity.... Unfortunately, going to church is no different than going anywhere: There is a risk of contagion."[30]
After testing positive for COVID-19, De Donatis entered theAgostino Gemelli University Policlinic with a fever on 30 March 2020; he had not been in physical contact with Pope Francis or visited the Vatican recently.[31] He was released on 10 April and continued to recuperate at home.[32]
Cardinal De Donatis was criticised by victims ofMarko Rupnik's alleged spiritual and sexual abuse who expressed "bewilderment" with the Diocese of Rome's statement praising the art and theology centre he founded.[33]
He has also been criticised bytraditionalists for his implementation ofTraditionis custodes after he issued new regulations, that permitted the celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form, except during theTriduum, and issuing a total ban on celebration of the other sacraments in the extraordinary form.[34]
In January 2023, Pope Francis reorganized the Diocese of Rome, greatly restricted the role of vicar general. He defined the role of each auxiliary bishop and took direct charge of many diocesan decisions.[35][36] He defined the vicar general's role as a coordinator of the work of diocesan bodies, defined him as an auxiliary, and restricted his sphere of responsibility with the rule that the vicar general "will not undertake important initiatives or ones exceeding ordinary administration without first reporting to me".[37]
On 6 April 2024, Pope Francis appointed himMajor Penitentiary.[38] The pope told his auxiliaries that he would "take time to carry out a healthy discernment" before naming a new vicar general.[39]
He participated as acardinal elector in the2025 papal conclave that electedPope Leo XIV.[40]
Tierced inverted pall: in the first, reddivision of the field is contained a winged lion with a halo, with the head front-facing, while crouching and holding with its front legs in front of its chest a golden book bearing in black, capital letters PAX TIBI MARCE in four rows on the first side, and EVANGELISTA MEUS in four rows on the second side. In the second blue division on the right-hand side is acharge of a silverumbraculum. In the third, silver division is a branch with an openpomegranate. A gothicpatriarchal cross is behind the shield and agalero, signifying De Donatis' archiepiscopal status.[41]
Before being appointed the Vicar General of Rome, De Donatis' coat of arms as auxiliary bishop was divided into red and silver fields, without the umbraculum on the blue field.[42]
The words of De Donatis'Latin episcopal motto,nihil caritate dulcius ("nothing is sweeter than love" in English), are taken fromSt. Ambrose'sDe officiis ministrorum (in English:On the Duties of the Clergy): "Be among you the peace that surpasses all feeling. Love one another. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing more pleasing than peace."[42]
The lion ofSt. Mark the Evangelist, chosen in honor of the saint to whom is dedicated the parish he led before being appointed a bishop, stands on red, which is the color of love and blood. The umbraculum, the symbol of theBishop of Rome, over a blue background, representing the detachment from earthly values and the ascent of the soul to God. At the bottom is a pomegranate, the symbol of thePassion of Christ, on a background of silver, which symbolizes the purity of theVirgin Mary to whom De Donatis entrusts his episcopal ministry.[42]
On 17 January 1991 he was named Archbishop and Pro-Vicar General of the Pope for the Diocese of Rome.... Named Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome ... 1 July 1991.
By tradition, the vicar of Rome is the "Cardinal Vicar of Rome," and all other vicars have been named a cardinal before taking up the post. In fact, in 1991, Pope John Paul II named Bishop Camillo Ruini "pro-vicar general" for Rome, not appointing him "vicar general" until after he was created a cardinal six months later. Francis seems to want to make the position more focused on the local Church, instead of dealing with the various Curial assignments occupying much of the time of all cardinals living in Rome.
Il Vicario di Roma è sempre stato creato cardinale (se non lo era già, come nel caso di Vallini)
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by — | Auxiliary Bishop of Rome 2015–2017 | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Bishop of Mottola 2015–2017 | Succeeded by Himself as Archbishop of Mottola |
| Preceded by Himself as Bishop of Mottola | — TITULAR — Archbishop of Mottola 2017–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome 2017–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Archpriest of theArchbasilica of St. John Lateran 2017–2024 | Succeeded by | |
| Grand Chancellor of thePontifical Lateran University 2017–2024 | Succeeded by | |
| Apostolic Administrator of theSuburbicarian Diocese of Ostia 2017–present | Incumbent | |
| Preceded by | Cardinal Protector ofSan Marco 2018–present | |
| Preceded by | Major Penitentiary 2024–present | |
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