Giovanni Battista Re facts for kids
Quick facts for kids His Eminence Giovanni Battista Re |
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| Dean of the College of Cardinals Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops |
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Re in 2023
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| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| See | Sabina-Poggio Mirteto Ostia |
| Appointed | 18 January 2020 |
| Predecessor | Angelo Sodano |
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| Ordination | 3 March 1957 |
| Consecration | 7 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II |
| Created Cardinal | 21 February 2001 |
| Rank | Cardinal-Bishop (2002–present) |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Giovanni Battista Re |
| Born | 30 January 1934 Borno, Kingdom of Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Parents | Matteo Re (father) |
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| Styles of Giovanni Battista Re |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Ostia and Sabina-Poggio Mirteto (suburbicarian dioceses) |
Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 2000 to 2010. As the senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the March 2013 papal conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor. Pope Francis approved his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals on 18 January 2020.
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Early years
Born in Borno, Italy, the son of the carpenter Matteo Re (1908–2012), Giovanni Battista Re was ordained a priest by Archbishop Giacinto Tredici in Brescia on 3 March 1957. He holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and taught in the Brescia seminary. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1961.
Curial service
Re has been a member of the Roman Curia since 1963, where he served as personal secretary to Archbishop Giovanni Benelli. He was elevated to monsignor and served in various diplomatic positions before being named both bishop of the titular see of Forum Novum and secretary of the Congregation for Bishops on 9 October 1987. Pope John Paul II administered the episcopal consecration one month later, on 7 November.
Sostituto
On 12 December 1989, he became sostituto ("substitute") for general affairs of the Vatican's Secretariat of State, one of the key positions under the Cardinal Secretary of State.
Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops
He was named on 16 September 2000 to head the Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Re became Cardinal-Priest of Ss. XII Apostoli in the consistory held 21 February 2001, named first among those elevated. The next year, on 1 October, he was named Cardinal Bishop of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto. Re automatically lost his position as prefect on 2 April 2005 upon the death of John Paul II and was reconfirmed in office by Pope Benedict XVI on 21 April 2005. He held both positions until 30 June 2010.
Lincoln excommunications
..... Call to Action challenged his authority to make such a declaration, asking the Congregation for Bishops to provide an "authoritative judgment of the Holy See". As prefect of the congregation, Re upheld Bruskewitz's action in 2006.
Society of Saint Pius X
In January 2009, Re published a decree removing the excommunications from the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X. Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos stated that if anyone in the Vatican should have known about Richard Nelson Williamson's negationist views, it was Re, whose congregation oversaw information about bishops and prelates.
Other positions
Re was a member of various offices of the Curia. In May 2008, Pope Benedict named him a member of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. He was also a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in addition to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. He held these memberships until his 80th birthday.
College of Cardinals
Re was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. He was identified by numerous commentators before and during the 2005 conclave as a potential successor to John Paul II.
When Pope Benedict XVI resigned on 28 February 2013, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the subdean, were over the age of 80 and therefore ineligible to participate in the conclave to elect his successor. Re, as the senior cardinal elector, presided over the conclave that elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis. At the new pope's inauguration on 19 March 2013, Re was one of the six cardinals who made a public profession of obedience to the new pope on behalf of the College of Cardinals.
On 10 June 2017, Pope Francis approved Re's election as subdean of the College of Cardinals by the cardinals of the suburbicarian sees. On 18 January 2020, Pope Francis approved his election to a five-year term as dean of the College of Cardinals by the nine Latin Church cardinal bishops.
As Dean of the College of Cardinals, Re along with Pope Francis presided over the state funeral of Pope Benedict XVI on 5 January 2023. It was the first funeral for a retired pope since Pope Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415 and died two years later.
See also
In Spanish: Giovanni Battista Re para niños
