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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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, the ...

27 August 2022. He is the first member of the Legion of Christ to become a cardinal.

Life

Vérgez was born in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

on 1 March 1945. On 25 December 1965 he made a profession of faith with the clerical congregation of the

Legion of Christ The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ ( la, Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; abbreviated LC; also Legion of Christ) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Marci ...

, 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 1 ...

. 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 , seal = Seal of the Vatican Secret Archives.svg , seal_width = 200 , seal_caption = Former seal of the Vatican Apostolic Archive , logo = , formed = , jurisdiction = , headquarters = Cortile del Belvedere, Vatican City , coordinates ...

. 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 The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL; la, Congregatio pro Institutis Vitae Consecratae et Soci ...

. In April 1984 he moved to 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 ...

. He was appointed head of the ordinary section of the

Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; it, Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, link=no) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the fun ...

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 sovereign ...

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 Giuseppe Sciacca (born 23 February 1955) is the current Secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura since his appointment by Pope Francis on July 16, 2016, replacing the retiring Archbishop Frans Daneels. Previously, he had ser ...

. 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 an ...

of Villamagna in Proconsulari, and on 15 November, in

St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

, 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 Octo ...

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

as President of the

and President of the Governorate of

, effective 1 October 2021. He was also given the personal title of archbishop. On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis made him a

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. Co ...

, assigning him the deaconry

Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani ( �santa maˈriːa ˈdɛlla merˈtʃeːde e santaˈdrjaːno a ˈvilla alˈbaːni is a 20th-century parochial church and titular church in north-central Rome, dedicated to Mary of Mercies ...

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

Life

See also

References

External links