Leonardo Sandri | |
|---|---|
| Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals | |
.jpg) Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 11 October 2014 | |
| Appointed | 18 January 2020 |
| Predecessor | Giovanni Battista Re |
| Other post(s) | |
| Previous post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 2 December 1967 by Juan Carlos Aramburu |
| Consecration | 11 October 1997 by Angelo Sodano |
| Created cardinal | 24 November 2007 byPope Benedict XVI |
| Rank |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1943-11-18)18 November 1943 (age 81) |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Motto | Ille fidelis (He remains faithful;2 Timothy 2:13) |
| Coat of arms |  |
Leonardo Sandri (born 18 November 1943) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has been acardinal since November 2007 and vice dean of theCollege of Cardinals since January 2020. He was prefect of theCongregation for the Eastern Churches from 2007 to 2022. He served in the diplomatic service of theHoly See from 1974 to 1991 in several overseas assignments, including as a permanent observer of the Holy See before the Organization of American States from 1989 to 1991, and in Rome as Substitute for General Affairs in theSecretariat of State from 1999 to 2007.
Sandri was born inBuenos Aires to Antonio Enrico Sandri and Nella Righi, who had emigrated toArgentina fromAla, a village inTrentino in Italy.[1] He studiedhumanities, philosophy andtheology at theMetropolitan Seminary of Buenos Aires, and earned aLicentiate in Theology from thePontifical Catholic University of Argentina. On 2 December 1967 he wasordained to the priesthood by ArchbishopJuan Carlos Aramburu and became his secretary.[2]
He also served as curate of Nuestra Señora del Carmen inVilla Urquiza until 1970. He then studied at thePontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained adoctorate in canon law, and thePontifical Latin American College. In 1971, he entered thePontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trainspapal diplomats.[3]
In 1974, Sandri became an official of theApostolic Nunciature in Madagascar andMauritius, which also serves as theApostolic Delegation in the islands ofComoros andRéunion in the Indian Ocean.[1][2] He then served in theVatican Secretariat of State, as secretary of theSubstitute for General Affairs, including future cardinalsEduardo Martinez Somalo andEdward Cassidy from 1977 to 1989; and in theApostolic Nunciature in the United States aspermanent observer of theHoly See before theOrganization of American States, from 1989 to 1991.[2]
He became regent of thePrefecture of the Pontifical Household on 22 August 1991[4] and assessor of the Section for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State on 2 April 1992.[5]
On 22 July 1997, Sandri was appointedApostolic Nuncio to Venezuela andTitular Archbishop ofAemona byPope John Paul II.[6] He received hisepiscopal consecration on the following 11 October from CardinalAngelo Sodano, with Cardinal Aramburu and ArchbishopGiovanni Battista Re serving asco-consecrators, atSt. Peter's Basilica. He selected as his episcopalmotto:"Ille Fidelis", meaning, "He (Christ) remains faithful" (2 Timothy 2:13). He was the first Argentinian to hold the title of Apostolic Nuncio.[7] After two years inVenezuela, he was namedApostolic Nuncio to Mexico on 1 March 2000.[8] During his brief tenure there he was tasked with restraining the Mexican bishops from intervening in political affairs.[2]
On 16 September 2000, he was named Substitute for General Affairs,[9] a key position within theRoman Curia, serving essentially as thechief of staff of the Secretariat of State.[10]
As Pope John Paul's health declined, Sandri would read aloud the texts that the Pope could not deliver himself. On the evening of 2 April 2005, he announced the Pope's death fromSaint Peter's Square, saying "We all feel like orphans this evening."[11][12]
On 11 October 2006, while still serving in his sensitive position in the Vatican Secretariat of State, Sandri sent a letter to FatherBoniface Ramsey, a New York City pastor who was a seminary professor from 1986 to 1996. Sandri did not mention McCarrick, but referred to "the serious matters involving some of the students of theImmaculate Conception Seminary, which in November 2000 you were good enough to bring confidentially to the attention of the then Apostolic Nuncio in the United States, the late ArchbishopGabriel Montalvo."[13][14] Ramsey's 2000 letter was about complaints of sexual abuse of seminarians on the part of CardinalTheodore McCarrick when he was Archbishop of Newark (1986–2000). Ramsey made Sandri's letter public on 7 September 2018 to document that his letter to Montalvo had reached Rome and that the highest levels of the Vatican had long been aware of his charges against McCarrick.[13] By then McCarrick had resigned from the College of Cardinals, but he still faced a Church trial. In February 2019, the same month McCarrick waslaicized by the Vatican, an image of Sandri's 2006 letter was published by the media; it accompanied aCommonweal article that Ramsey wrote.[15] On 5 February 2020, journalistThomas J. Reese cited the Sandri-Ramsey correspondence in calling for a full review of the Secretariat's files as part of the Vatican investigation into McCarrick and in order to determine who in the Vatican's highest levels knew what about the charges against McCarrick.[16]
On 9 June 2007, Sandri was appointedprefect of theCongregation for the Oriental Churches byPope Benedict XVI.[4] SucceedingIgnatius I Daoud, he headed thecurial congregation that handles matters regarding theEastern Catholic Churches and became theex officioGrand Chancellor of thePontifical Oriental Institute. Pope Francis confirmed that appointment on 19 February 2014.[17]
Sandri visited theHoly Land in February 2008.[18] In April 2009, he lamented the emigration of Christians from that region: "Thislack of peace makes Christians emigrate and leave their land behind. So we're left with a purely geological, physical presence of Jesus, and not with the presence of those that grew with him and lived his faith, and that continue to follow him today like disciples of his very homeland."[19] In 2014 he called for an end to the forced removal of Christians from Iraq and Syria, saying that more than 100,000 Christians had left their homes in Iraq and "now wander to the city of Erbil in impossible conditions".[20]
One analysis of the delay in thecanonization process for John Paul II pointed to, among other things, Sandri's apparent reluctance to testify in the effort.[21]
In November 2014 the Vatican lifted its 1929 ban on the ordination of married men to the priesthood by Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories, including in the United States, Canada and Australia. Sandri signed the decree on 14 June 2014.[22][23]
| Styles of Leonardo Sandri | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Benedict XVI created himCardinal-Deacon ofSan Carlo ai Catinari in theconsistory of 24 November 2007.[24][25][26] He delivered the message of thanksgiving to the pope on behalf of the new cardinals on that occasion.[27]
In April 2008, Sandri said that although the regime ofSaddam Hussein was dictatorial, it is undeniable that Iraqi clergy and laity felt more secure under his regime and that their liturgical life went on undisturbed.[28]
He was mentioned in the press aspapabile, a possible candidate for election to the papacy at the time of theresignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.[29][30][31][32]
Sandri is also a member of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples,Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity,Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts,Pontifical Commission for Latin America andPontifical Commission for Vatican City State.[1] On 2 March 2010 he was appointed a member of theCongregation for Bishops.[33] On 31 May 2011 he was appointed a member of theApostolic Signatura.[34] On 12 June 2012 Cardinal Sandri was appointed a member of theCongregation for Catholic Education.[35]
Sandri, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, was named byPope Benedict XVI as one of four co-presidents of the Special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East held at the Vatican in October 2010.[36] He speaks English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.[2]
In June 2005 Archbishop Sandri was awarded Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic.[37]
He opted for the order of Cardinal Priests on 19 May 2018.[1] Pope Francis raised him to the rank of Cardinal Bishop effective 28 June 2018.[38] On 24 January 2020, Pope Francis approved his election as Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals by the nine Latin-rite cardinal-bishops.[39][40] Pope Francis approved his election to a second five-year term as vice dean on 14 January 2025.[41]
Pope Francis named ArchbishopClaudio Gugerotti to succeed him as prefect on 21 November 2022.[42]
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| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Assessor for General Affairs 2 April 1992 – 22 July 1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Apostolic Nunico to Venezuela 22 July 1997 – 1 March 2000 | Succeeded by André Dupuy |
| Preceded by Justo Mullor García | Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico 1 March 2000 – 16 September 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by | Regent of the Papal Household 22 August 1991 – 2 April 1992 | Succeeded by Paolo De Nicolò |
| Preceded by Maximino Romero de Lema | — TITULAR — Titular Archbishop of Novigrad 22 July 1997 – 24 November 2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Substitute for General Affairs 16 September 2000 – 1 July 2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches 1 July 2007 – 21 November 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Oriental Institute 1 July 2007 – 21 November 2022 | ||
| Preceded by | Cardinal Deacon of Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari 24 November 2007 – 19 May 2018 | Himself as Cardinal Priest |
| Himself as Cardinal Deacon | Cardinal Priest 'pro hac vice' of Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari 19 May 2018 – 28 June 2018 | Himself as Cardinal Bishop |
| Himself as Cardinal Priest | Cardinal Bishop of Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari 28 June 2018 – | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals 18 January 2020 – | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
