Manuel Monteiro de Castro (born 29 March 1938) is a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of 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 R ...

from 1967 to 2009, with the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985. His assignments as nuncio included the Caribbean, South Africa, Central America, and Spain. He ended his career in senior positions in the Roman Curia from 2009 to 2013. He was made a cardinal in 2012.

Early years

Monteiro de Castro was born on 29 March 1938 in Santa Eufémia de Prazins, Guimarães, Portugal. He studied humanities, philosophy and theology in the Archdiocese of Braga. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop António Bento Júnior on 9 July 1961. He then 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 a doctorate in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

in June 1967. He also trained for a career as a diplomat at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. In February 1969, he became an advocate in the Sacred Roman Rota.

Diplomat

He entered the diplomatic service of the

in 1967. He was created

Chaplain of His Holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.Secretariat of State from June to November 1981. He was counselor of the nunciature in Belgium from the end of 1981 until 1985. On 16 February 1985,

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 of Beneventum; Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago; and Apostolic Delegate to the other territories in the Antilles. His title change to Apostolic Nuncio to Granada on 30 April. He was consecrated a bishop by Cardinal Secretary of State

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was the most important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the persecutio ...

. He became in addition Apostolic Nuncio to Antigua and Barbuda on 25 April 1987. He was named Apostolic Nuncio to both Honduras and El Salvador on 21 August 1990, but was replaced in Honduras by Luigi Conti on 12 April 1991. In 1998, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to South Africa, Namibia, and Swaziland on 2 February and Apostolic Nuncio to Lesotho on 7 March. On 1 March 2000, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

. He met with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to reduce tension between the Spanish government and the Church. Addressing a conference of Spanish bishops in 2004, he proposed they support the legal recognition of same-sex relationships called something other than "marriages". He said: "The new political situation in which we are living in Spain sets new challenges in the spreading of the gospel and we must meet those challenges in an appropriate manner.... There are other forms of cohabitation and it is good that they be recognised." On 7 December 2007, he was given the added role of Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the

World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internati ...

(UNWTO).

Roman Curia

On 3 July 2009, Pope Benedict ended his diplomatic career by appointing him Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops. He was given additional responsibility as Secretary of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

on 21 October 2009. He was named a consultor to the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

on 19 November 2009. On 5 January 2012, Monteiro de Castro was appointed Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

Cardinal

On 6 January 2012,

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 soverei ...

announced he would make Monteiro de Castro a cardinal on 18 February. He was created

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 San Domenico di Guzman on that day. On 21 April 2012, Monteiro de Castro was appointed a member of the

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Spirituali Migrantium atque Itinerantium Cura) was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia. The council, established by Pope John Paul I ...

Congregation for the Causes of 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 ...

and the Congregation for Bishops. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...

that elected

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. ...

. On 4 March 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest.

Honors

*In 1985, he was awarded Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Infante Dom Henrique The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

, granted by Prime Minister

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th pres ...

. *In 2003, he was decorated with the Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ, granted by the minister of Foreign Affairs.

References

External links