Salvatore De Giorgi (born 6 September 1930) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Palermo from 1996 until his retirement in 2006. He was made a cardinal in 1998. He was first made a bishop in 1973 and led other dioceses in his native Apulia from 1978 to 1990.

Life

De Giorgi was born 6 September 1930 in Vernole, in Apulia (Southern Italy). He was ordained a priest in 1953 and was secretary to Bishop Francesco Minerva of Lecce from 1953 to 1958. He also served as diocesan chaplain for the Teachers' Movement of Catholic Action. In 1958 he became parish priest of Our Lady of Grace in Santa Rosa. On 21 November 1973, he was named

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 ...

of Tulana and an auxiliary bishop of Oria. He received his episcopal consecration on 27 December.

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 bishop of that see on 17 March 1978. His pastoral ministry was characterized by the accentuation of the spiritual, commitment to the formation of the clergy, the promotion of the laity. Attentive to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, he was also particularly sensitive to social problems, especially those concerning the family, youth and the protection of life, and has directed special attention to the situation of the marginalized."Card. Salvatore De Giorgi", Accademia Bonafaciana
/ref> On 4 April 1981, he was made archbishop of Foggia. From 1987 to 1990, he served as

Archbishop of Taranto The Archdiocese of Taranto ( la, Archidioecesis Tarentina) is a metropolitan Roman Catholic diocese in southern Italy, on a bay in the Gulf of Taranto.

. In 1990, he was appointed General Chaplain of Italian

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, I ...

, a position he held until

appointed him archbishop of Palermo on 4 April 1996. At the same time, he was also elected President of the Sicilian Episcopal Conference. He was often outspoken in his condemnation of organized crime and the mafia. He has visited emigrants from Palermo in the Italian communities in Melbourne, Australia, Chicago and Milwaukee in the United States of America, in Toronto, Canada and London in England. De Giorgi was named a

Cardinal-Priest 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 ...

Santa Maria in Aracoeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. ...

on 21 February 1998. On 25 February he was made a member of 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 co ...

and the

Pontifical Council for the Family The Pontifical Council for the Family was a pontifical council of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church from 1981 to 2016. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio ''Familia a Deo Instituta'', replacing the Com ...

. On 18 February 1999, he was named a member of the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected

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 ...

. He retired as Archbishop of Palermo on 19 December 2006 and was succeeded by Archbishop

Paolo Romeo Paolo Romeo (born 20 February 1938) is a cardinal and archbishop emeritus of Palermo. He was appointed to the see of Palermo by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2006. Romeo was the fifth of nine children. After primary school he entered the sem ...

, who had been

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 ...

to Italy and

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

. De Giorgi is a writer and journalist. He has authored several religious publications, including ''Un servizio di amore per una Chiesa di frontiera'' (2015). Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to a commission to investigate leaks of confidential documents. It first met on 24 April 2012. In May 2013 Pope Francis designated De Giorgi his representative to officiate at the beatification of Father

Pino Puglisi Giuseppe "Pino" Puglisi (, ; 15 September 1937 – 15 September 1993) was a Roman Catholic priest in the rough Palermo neighbourhood of Brancaccio. He openly challenged the Mafia who controlled the neighbourhood, and was killed by them on hi ...

, killed by the mafia in 1993. As generally the Pope chooses either the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints or the Cardinal Secretary of State, this was seen as unprecedented.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giorgi, Salvatore De 1930 births Living people People from the Province of Lecce Roman Catholic archbishops of Palermo Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 20th-century Italian cardinals 21st-century Italian cardinals