Dominique François Joseph Mamberti (born 7 March 1952) is the Prefect of the
Apostolic Signatura
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...
in the
Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
in 2015.
Early life and education
Dominique Mamberti was born in
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, on 7 March 1952 and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of
Ajaccio
Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...
, France, on 20 September 1981. He has academic degrees in civil and canon law. He entered the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
's diplomatic service and worked in the apostolic nunciatures in Algeria, Chile and Lebanon, in the Holy See's office at
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
headquarters in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and in the Section for Relations with States of the
Secretariat of State (Holy See)
The Secretariat of State (Latin: ''Secretaria Status''; Italian: ''Segreteria di Stato'') is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State ...
.
Mamberti is considered an expert on
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, the United Nations, Africa, the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
.
Archbishop
On 18 May 2002,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
appointed him
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 Sagona and
Apostolic Nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
to
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and
Apostolic Delegate
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international o ...
to
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. He received episcopal
consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
from
Cardinal Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae,
it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...
Angelo Sodano
Angelo Raffaele Sodano, GCC (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and from 1991 on a cardinal. He was the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 ...
on 3 July 2002. On 19 February 2004, he was also appointed Apostolic Nuncio to
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
and Somalia was removed from his remit.
Secretary for Relations with States
He was appointed Secretary for Relations with States by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
on 15 September 2006. This post is generally seen as the equivalent of
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
of the Holy See. In 2007 Archbishop Mamberti was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
.
At a meeting in September 2009 between the Kosovan Foreign Minister,
Skënder Hyseni
Skënder Hyseni (Serbo-Croatian: ''Skender Hiseni'') (born 17 February 1955 in Podujevo) is a Kosovar Albanian politician who is a former Minister of Internal Affairs and a former foreign minister of Kosovo. Hyseni graduated at the University of ...
, and Mamberti, the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Mamberti said that the Holy See was closely following developments in and around Kosovo, and he expressed his willingness to continue and intensify mutual communications. Following a meeting in November 2009 between the Serbian President
Boris Tadić
Boris Tadić ( sr-cyr, Борис Тадић, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012.
Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology ...
and Pope Benedict XVI, Tadić said that the Vatican supported Serbia's integration and membership within the EU and the sovereignty and preservation of its territorial integrity.
In September 2007, Mamberti orchestrated the first official visit between an Arab Head of State, Sudan's President Omar el-Bashir and Pope Benedict. The visit took place at the Pope's Summer residence,
Castel Gandolfo
Castel Gandolfo (, , ; la, Castrum Gandulphi), colloquially just Castello in the Castelli Romani dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy. Occupying a height on the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano, Castel Ga ...
. Shortly after this groundbreaking event, the King of Saudi Arabia met the Pope. This marked the beginning of a new period of Catholic-Muslim relations.
In June 2010, Mamberti visited Cuba and spent several days on the island, marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Cuba and participating in a national conference on the church's social teachings. He met with President
Raul Castro
Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul.
Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...
, saying afterwards that bilateral relations are "cordial, continuing and on the rise." "The visit of (Archbishop) Mamberti also showed the favourable development of relations between the state and the Catholic Church in Cuba," the government's note said.
Mamberti, addressing the United Nations, in September 2011, called for "courageous decisions" toward the two-state solution for the Holy Land after
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
leaders requested full U.N. membership for the Palestinian state. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti did not say whether the Vatican explicitly supported the Palestinians' U.N. initiative. He added that the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
viewed the Palestinian bid "in the perspective of efforts to find a definitive solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian question – an issue addressed by a U.N. resolution of 1947 that foresaw the creation of two states. "One of them has already been created, while the other has not yet been established, although nearly 64 years have passed. The Holy See is convinced that if we want peace, it is necessary to adopt courageous decisions," he said.
At the opening of the UN General Assembly in September 2012, Mamberti said that
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
is "solidly based upon the dignity and nature of humanity—in other words, upon the
natural law
Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
." He called the UN delegates' attention to the language of the UN Charter and the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, i ...
, which affirm the importance of the natural law. International law will earn recognition and respect, he said, if it is recognised as protecting every person and nation, not favouring the powerful. "Such will be possible," he said, "if legislation at the international level is marked by respect for the dignity of the human person, beginning with the centrality of the right to life and to freedom of religion."
In a separate address in early October 2012, Mamberti spoke of the theme of the assembly as the "Adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means." In his French-language address, he lamented a "loss of faith in the value of dialogue, and the temptation to favour 'a priori' one of the sides in regional and national conflicts," saying that this threatens "respect for the juridical mechanisms of the United Nations." Archbishop Mamberti referred specifically to situations in the Middle East, particularly in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, "A solution is impossible if it fails to respect the rules of international and humanitarian law, or falls outside the mechanisms established in the
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
," he stated. "All interested parties should not only facilitate the mission of the special envoy of the United Nations and the
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
, but also ensure humanitarian assistance to the suffering peoples. The international community must unite its efforts so that all sides replace the race to arms with negotiation, just as it must insist on effective respect for religious liberty, human rights and all fundamental freedoms."
On 16 January 2013, Mamberti gave an interview on Vatican Radio about the Catholic Church's autonomy and religious freedom. He defended the right to a conscience clause for Christian employers who refused services to homosexuals. He opposed increasing Secularism.
In July 2014 commenting on the
situation in Gaza, Mamberti sent a formal note to all the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, calling their attention to the appeals by Pope Francis for Christians in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. Mamberti said that the Holy See is "deeply concerned" with the suffering of Christians in the region. "Christian communities are suffering unjustly, they are scared, and many Christians have been forced to emigrate", he said.
Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura
On 8 November 2014, Pope Francis appointed Mamberti as Prefect of the
Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...
, the final court of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment, besides the Pope himself. Then-Archbishop Mamberti succeeded
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, who was named Patron to the
Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
.
Cardinal
On 4 January 2015, Pope Francis announced that he would make Archbishop Mamberti a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
on 14 February. At the ceremony, he was appointed
Cardinal-Deacon
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
of the titular church of ''
Santo Spirito in Sassia
Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in '' Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the sou ...
''.
On Monday, 13 April 2015, Cardinal Mamberti was named a member of the Board of the Cardinals and Bishops for the Section for Relations with States of the Vatican
Cardinal Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae,
it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...
's office, a Member of the
, and a Member of the
Congregation for the Causes of the Saints
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...
. These memberships are at the pleasure of the Pope, for a five-year term that can be renewed, and the Cardinal will have the right to be a Member or Consultor to any Vatican Roman Curia office until he turns 80, at which time he usually must resign his office (unless asked to stay by the Pope, and if he hasn't already resigned at the normal age of 75) and will lose the right to vote in a
Papal Conclave
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...
.
On 4 October 2017 he was appointed a member of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
.
See also
*
Cardinals created by Pope Francis
Pope Francis () has created cardinals at eight consistories held at roughly annual intervals beginning in 2014, most recently on 27 August 2022. He has created 121 cardinals from 66 countries, 23 of which had never been represented in the Col ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mamberti, Dominique
1952 births
Living people
21st-century French cardinals
Moroccan cardinals
Roman Catholic titular archbishops
Apostolic Nuncios to Sudan
Apostolic Nuncios to Eritrea
Apostolic Nuncios to Somalia
Secretaries for Relations with States of the Holy See
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Prefects of the Apostolic Signatura
Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Cardinals created by Pope Francis
French people of Corsican descent