Get to know the Future Cardinals

Here are brief biographies of the future cardinals whom Pope Francis has named from around the world, and will be given their 'red hats' on 30 September 2023.

Here are brief biographies of the Church’s future cardinals. Vatican News will continue adding biographies, most of which are courtesy of the Cardinal elects' local Churches. throughout the day

Archbishop Robert Francis Prevost, 67, was born in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on 14 September 1955. He entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) in 1977, in the province of Our Lady of Good Counsel in St. Louis, and made his solemn vows on 29 August 1981. He studied at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, graduating with a degree in Theology. In 1988 he was sent to the mission of Trujillo as director of the common formation project for Augustinian aspirants from the Vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac. There he served as community prior (1988-1992), formation director (1988-1998), and teacher of the professed (1992-1998). In the Archdiocese of Trujillo, he was judicial vicar (1989-1998), and professor of Canon Law, Patristics, and Morals in the San Carlos e San Marcelo Major Seminary. In 1999 he was elected prior provincial of the “Mother of Good Counsel' Province. After two and a half years, the Ordinary General Chapter elected him prior general, a ministry the Order entrusted to him again at the 2007 Ordinary General Chapter. On 3 November 2014, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo and on 7 November he took canonical possession of the diocese. He was ordained Bishop of Chiclayo on 12 December 2014. On 15 April 2020, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Callao. And in 2023. Pope Francis appointed him a Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti was born in Verona in 1955, Archbishop Gugerotti joined the Pius Society of Don Nicola Mazza and was ordained a priest in 1982. At the Ca' Foscari University in Venice he received a degree in Oriental Languages and Literature, as well as a licence in liturgy at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant'Anselmo and a doctorate in Oriental Ecclesiastical Sciences at the Pontifical Oriental Institute.Archbishop Gugerotti worked at the Congregation for Oriental Churches, starting in 1985. In 1997 Saint Pope John Paul II appointed him undersecretary of the Congregation. He was appointed an archbishop in 2002 and became Apostolic Nuncio of various countries where various Eastern Churches are located: 2002 in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan; 2011 in Belarus; 2020 in Ukraine in 2015 and in 2020 in Great Britain. He has been Prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches since January 2023.

Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández was born on 18 July 1962 in Alcira Gigena, in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. He was ordained a priest on 15 August 1986 for the diocese of Villa de la Concepción del Río Cuarto, Argentina. He was awarded a licentiate in theology with biblical specialization from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and subsequently a doctorate in theology from the Faculty of Theology of Buenos Aires. From 1993 to 2000 he was parish priest of Santa Teresita in Río Cuarto, Córdoba. He was the founder and director of the Institute for Lay Formation and the Jesús Buen Pastor Formation Centre for Teachers in the same city. In his diocese he was also a seminary formator, director for ecumenism and director for catechesis. In 2007 he participated in the Fifth Conference of Latin American Bishops (Aparecida) as a priest representing Argentina and later as a member of the drafting group for the final document. From 2008 to 2009 he was dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and president of the Argentine Theological Society. From 2009 to 2018 he was rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. On 13 May 2013 he was appointed archbishop by Pope Francis. He participated, as a member, in the 2014 and 2015 Synods of Bishops on the family, in which he was also part of the drafting groups. In the 2017 Assembly of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, he was elected president of the Episcopal Commission for Faith and Culture (Doctrinal Commission). In June 2018 he assumed the office of archbishop of La Plata. He has been a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture and Consultor of the Congregation for Catholic Education. He is currently a member of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. He has published more than 300 books and scientific articles, many of which have been translated into various languages. These works demonstrate an important biblical foundation and a constant commitment to the dialogue between theology and culture, the evangelizing mission, spirituality and social issues.

Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig was born in Unterems, Switzerland, on Feb. 3, 1947 and ordained to the priesthood on April 11, 1974. He received his doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University and was incardinated in the diocese of Sion, Switzerland. Pope John Paul II appointed him a member of the Holy See's diplomatic service in 1978, as secretary of the apostolic nunciature, serving in Uganda, South Korea, Mongolia and Bangladesh. As Apostolic Nuncio, he has served in Burundi (1996-2000), to Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Bahamas (2000-2004) and from 2001 also to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname and Saint Kitts and Nevis; South Korea and Mongolia (2004-2008); to the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, 2008-2012); to Argentina (2012-2017); to Italy and San Marino, the first non-Italian to hold the post (2017-).

Archbishop Christophe Pierre was born on January 30, 1946 in Rennes, France. He completed his primary education in Antisirabé, Madagascar, and his secondary schooling in Saint-Malo, France, and in Marrakech, Morocco. He attended the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Rennes (1963-1969) and the Catholic Institute of Paris (1969-1971). After performing Military Service, he was ordained a priest on April 5, 1970, in Saint-Malo, France and incardinated in the Archdiocese of Rennes. He was Parochial Vicar of the St. Peter and St. Paul Parish in Colombes, Diocese of Nanterre, France (1970-1973). He has a Master in Sacred Theology (Paris, 1971) and a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome (1973-1977). He completed his studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, in Rome (1973-1977), and started his service in the Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See on March 5, 1977. He was appointed first to the Pontifical Representation in New Zealand and the Islands of the Pacific Ocean (1977-1981). Subsequently he served in Mozambique (1981); in Zimbabwe (1982-1986); in Cuba (1986-1989); in Brazil (1989-1991); at the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (1991-1995). He was elected Titular Archbishop of Gunela on July 12, 1995, and received the Episcopal Consecration on September 24, 1995, in Saint-Malo, France. Archbishop Christophe Pierre was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, on July 12, 1995, where he served until 1999. He has been the Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda (1999-2007) and then, the Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico (2007-2016). He was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio of the United States of America by His Holiness, Pope Francis on April 12, 2016.

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio (Bergamo) on 21 April 1965, son of Pietro and Maria Maddalena Tadini. He attended Secondary School at the Minor Seminary “Le Grazie” of Rimini and obtained his diploma in classical studies at the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Ferrara on June 1984. He received the Franciscan religious habit on September 5, 1984, in Ferrara (Santo Spirito) and spent the year of novitiate at the Franciscan Shrine of La Verna (Arezzo, Italy). He made his Temporary Profession in La Verna, on September 7, 1985, and his Solemn Profession on October 10, 1989, in the Church of St. Anthony in Bologna. On September 15, 1990, he was ordained priest in the cathedral church of Bologna, with the imposition of hands of Cardinal Giacomo Biffi. After spending one year in Rome, he was transferred to the Holy Land, in Jerusalem, in October 1990. From July 2, 1999, he formally entered in service to the Custody of the Holy Land. After his philosophical-theological studies, he obtained a Licenciate Degree in Biblical Theology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem. His Beatitude Pizzaballa is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Vatican News will continue updating this list throughout the day

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Source: vaticannews.va