Fernando Vérgez Alzaga
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Fernando Vérgez Alzaga L.C. (born 1 March 1945) is a Spanish prelate of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
who has been President of the
Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State ( la, Pontificia Commissio pro Civitate Vaticana, it, Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Città del Vaticano;) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who als ...
and President of the Governorate of
Vatican City State Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...
since 1 October 2021. He was Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 2013 to 2021 and before that director of the Vatican City State Telecommunications Directorate. He has worked in the Roman Curia since 1972. He was made a bishop in 2013 and given the personal title of archbishop in 2021. Pope Francis made him 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, t ...
27 August 2022. He is the first member of the Legion of Christ to become a cardinal.


Life

Vérgez was born in Salamanca on 1 March 1945. On 25 December 1965 he made a profession of faith with the clerical congregation of the Legion of Christ, and on 26 November 1969 was ordained as a priest by Cardinal
Ildebrando Antoniutti Ildebrando Antoniutti (3 August 1898 – 1 August 1974) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation for Religious from 1963 to 1973, and was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John XXIII in ...
. Vérgez studied at the
Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...
in Rome, earning degrees in philosophy and theology, and then a diploma as an archivist from the Vatican Secret Archives. In 1972 he entered the service of the Roman Curia as an assistant in the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In April 1984 he moved to the Pontifical Council for the Laity. He was appointed head of the ordinary section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See and in June 2004 became head of the Internet Office of the Holy See. On 1 February 2008,
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 sovereig ...
appointed Vérgez as Telecommunications Director of the Vatican City, with the
Poste Vaticane Poste Vaticane is an organization responsible for postal service in Vatican City. The organization is part of the Post and Telegraphy Service. History The use of stamps was introduced in the Vatican in 1852. Poste Vaticane was created in 1929 ...
. On 30 August 2013,
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 ...
promoted him to be Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, succeeding Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca. On 15 October 2013 Pope Francis named Vérgez
titular bishop 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 a ...
of Villamagna in Proconsulari, and on 15 November, in St Peter's Basilica, he was consecrated as a bishop by the pope, assisted by Cardinal
Giuseppe Bertello Giuseppe Bertello (born 1 October 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012, who was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from Octobe ...
and Bishop Brian Farrell. On 5 October 2020, Pope Francis appointed him to the five-member commission for reserved matters, a financial oversight board responsible for monitoring contracts that fall outside normal procedures and which for security reasons are not made public. On 8 September 2021, Pope Francis appointed him to succeed Cardinal
Giuseppe Bertello Giuseppe Bertello (born 1 October 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012, who was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from Octobe ...
as President of the
Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State ( la, Pontificia Commissio pro Civitate Vaticana, it, Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Città del Vaticano;) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who als ...
and President of the Governorate of
Vatican City State Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...
, effective 1 October 2021. He was also given the personal title of archbishop. On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis made him a cardinal deacon, assigning him the deaconry Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani.


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:Vérgez Alzaga Fernando 1945 births Living people 21st-century Italian titular bishops Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Legionaries of Christ People from Salamanca Officials of the Roman Curia 21st-century Spanish cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Francis