Antonio Maria Vegliò
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Antonio Maria Vegliò (born 3 February 1938) is an Italian
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
of the Roman Catholic Church, who has served as Vatican diplomat and in the
Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...
. He was President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants. Vegliò was created a
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 February 2012.


Early life and ordination

Born in Macerata Feltria, Italy, Vegliò was ordained a priest for the diocese of Pesaro in 1962. He attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy where he studied diplomacy. Besides his native Italian, he speaks English, French and Spanish.


Nuncio

He was appointed
Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of Eclano and was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
and the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
on 27 July 1985. In 1989, Vegliò was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, Guinea-Bissau, and
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
, and Apostolic Delegate to
Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
on 21 October and on 25 November Pro-Nuncio to Mali. He was promoted to full Apostolic Nuncio to four of those countries—all but Mauritania—in December 1994. On 2 October 1997,
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
named him Apostolic Nuncio to
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
and
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
a well as Apostolic Delegate to the Arabian Peninsula.


Curial work

On 11 April 2001, Vegliò was named Secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Oriental Churches. On 28 February 2009, he was named President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
announced on 6 January 2012 that Vegliò would be created cardinal. On 18 February he became Cardinal-Deacon of San Cesareo in Palatio. On 21 April 2012 Vegliò was named a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Pontifical Council for the Family and the
Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their ...
. In 2009, he organised the first European meeting of the pastoral care of people on the streets, such as drug users, street women, children, and the homeless. He has intervened several times in the public debate in support of the rights of migrants, refugees, immigrants, displaced persons, or other persons disadvantaged because of their status in mobility. He speaks out against piracy which he says infests the seas, and launched a campaign of solidarity with seafarers and their families affected by the tsunami in Japan. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the
2013 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 12 and 13 March 2013 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February 2013. Of the 117 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. On th ...
that elected
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
.
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
appointed Vegliò to the
Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (, ) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate and deputizes as the head of government of Vatican City, as well ...
on 1 June 2013. On 4 March 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest.


Views


Rights of migrants

In August 2009, he lamented the deaths of more than 70 Eritreans trying to reach Italy in a boat and implicitly criticized the Berlusconi government's tough new policies on immigration.


Swiss ban on minarets

Vegliò declared that the popular vote held in Switzerland against the construction of additional minarets was a heavy blow for religious freedom and integration in that country. His colleague
Agostino Marchetto Agostino Marchetto (born 28 August 1940) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1968 to 1999 and then in the Roman Curia until his retirement in 2010. He is regarded as one of the p ...
expressed a somewhat different view, arguing that the Swiss vote did not compromise religious freedom.KIPA article
/ref>


References


External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Veglio, Antonio Maria 1938 births Living people Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI People from Pesaro Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops 21st-century Italian cardinals Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Apostolic nuncios to Lebanon Apostolic nuncios to Senegal Apostolic nuncios to Guinea-Bissau Apostolic nuncios to Cape Verde Apostolic nuncios to Mali Apostolic nuncios to Papua New Guinea Apostolic nuncios to the Solomon Islands Apostolic nuncios to Kuwait