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Geraldo Majella Agnelo, 71
Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
Geraldo Majella Agnelo was born Oct. 19, 1933, in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of São Paulo on June 29, 1957, and holds a doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm, Rome.
He was director of the philosophical seminary, Aparecida; spiritual director and professor at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Ipiranga; professor of liturgical and sacramental theology at Pius XI Theological Institute; and rector of Our Lady of the Assumption Seminary.
On May 5, 1978, he was appointed bishop of Toledo and received episcopal ordination that Aug. 6. On Oct. 4, 1982, he was promoted to archbishop of Londrina. He was president of the Brazilian bishops’ Liturgical Commission.
On Sept. 16, 1991, he was appointed secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. He was named archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia on Jan. 13, 1999.
In May 1999 he was elected president of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops in May 2003.
He was elevated to cardinal in the consistory of Feb. 21, 2001.
Curial membership:
* Migrant and Itinerant Peoples (council)
* Cultural Heritage of the Church (commission)
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Bernard Agré, 79
Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Bernard Agré was born March 2, 1926, in Monga, Ivory Coast. He was ordained July 20, 1953, and holds a doctorate in canon law from the Urbanian University, Rome.
He was a headmaster in Dabouñ rector of the pre-seminary in Bingerville; parish priest of Notre Dame Parish in Treichville; and vicar general of Abidjan. On June 8, 1968, he was appointed bishop of Man and received episcopal ordination Oct. 3. On March 6, 1992, he was named bishop of the new Diocese of Yamoussoukro and on Dec. 19, 1994, was promoted to archbishop of Abidjan.
From 1985 until 1991, he was president of the Episcopal Conferences of Francophone West Africa and, from 1972 until 1996, chairman of the Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications.
He was also a member of the Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
He was elevated to cardinal in February 2001. He was president delegate for the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in October 2001.
Curial membership:
* Evangelization of Peoples (congregation)
* Family, Justice and Peace, Social Communications (councils)
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Francisco Álvarez Martínez, 79
Retired archbishop of Toledo, Spain
Francisco Álvarez Martínez was born July 14, 1925, in Santa Eulalia de Ferroñes Llanera, Spain. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Oviedo on June 11, 1950, and holds a doctorate in canon law from the University of Comillas, Madrid.
He was personal secretary to Archbishop Lauzurica y Torralba and did parish work in the Corredoría neighborhood. He was later chancellor and secretary of the archdiocesan curia and also served as chaplain to university students of the Teresian Institute.
On April 13, 1973, he was appointed bishop of Tarazona and received episcopal ordination June 3. He was named bishop of Calahorra and La Calzada-Logroño on Dec. 20, 1976, and was transferred to Orihuela-Alicante on May 12, 1989.
He was promoted to archbishop of Toledo on June 23, 1995, and was a member of the Standing Commission and the Executive Committee of the Spanish episcopal conference.
He became archbishop emeritus of Toledo on Oct. 24, 2002. He was elevated to cardinal in the consistory of Feb. 21, 2001.
Curial membership:
* Christian Unity, Laity (councils)
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Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic, 75
Archbishop of Toronto
Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic was born Jan. 27, 1930, in Gabrje, Slovenia, and emigrated with his family first to Austria in 1945 and then to Canada in 1948. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Toronto on June 4, 1955.
After serving for two years as a curate, he earned degrees in theology from the Angelicum and in Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome.
He taught Scripture at St. Augustine’s Seminary (1960-67) and then earned a doctorate in theology at the University of Wuerzburg. From 1970 to 1976 he taught New Testament exegesis at the Toronto School of Theology and served as dean of studies at St. Augustine’s.
On March 26, 1976, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Toronto and coadjutor of the same see on May 22, 1986. He became archbishop of Toronto on March 17, 1990.
He is the author of many written works. He was a delegate at the Synod of 1990 on the Formation of Priests and at the Synod of 1994 on Consecrated Life.
He was elevated to cardinal in the consistory of Feb. 21, 1998.
Curial membership:
* Divine Worship and Sacraments, Clergy, Eastern Churches (congregations)
* Migrants and Itinerant People, Culture (councils)
* Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Affairs of the Holy See
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Carlos Amigo Vallejo, 70
Archbishop of Seville, Spain
Carlos Amigo Vallejo was born in Medina de Rioseco, Valladolid, Spain, on Aug. 23, 1934. He was ordained a priest for the Order of Friars Minor on Aug. 17, 1960.
In 1970 he was appointed superior of his order’s Santiago Province. On Dec. 17, 1973, he was appointed archbishop of Tangier, Morocco; he was ordained bishop on April 28, 1974. He took part as a member of the Holy See Delegation in the Meeting for Islamic-Christian Dialogue in Tripoli, Libya, in 1976.
On many occasions he served as mediator in disputes between nations, and encouraged the establishment of centers for the social promotion of Muslim women; he also sought to improve Christian, Muslim and Jewish relations. He was appointed Archbishop of Seville on May 22, 1982.
As member of the bishops’ conference, he participated in the 1994 Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life. He has been archbishop of Seville since 1982. He was elevated to cardinal in the consistory of Oct. 21, 2003.
Curial membership:
* Health Care Workers (council)
* Latin America (commission)
— — —
Ennio Antonelli, 68
Archbishop of Florence, Italy
Ennio Antonelli was born at Todi, Italy, on Nov. 18, 1936. He was ordained a priest for that diocese on April 2, 1960. He holds a doctorate in classical studies from the University of Perugia.
Cardinal Antonelli was chaplain of the Catholic Teachers’ Association and of various Catholic Action groups, and also served as a seminary rector. He taught literature and art history and lectured in dogmatic theology at the theological institute of Assisi, and was likewise deeply involved in parish activities.
He was appointed bishop of Gubbio on May 25, 1982, and ordained on Aug. 29. He built the new seminary, the diocesan pastoral center and a house for the clergy. On Oct. 6, 1988, he was appointed archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve.
He has held various offices within the Italian bishops’ conference and has been active in the hospital, school and university apostolates, setting up chaplaincies and creating groups for social/cultural commitment.
On March 21, 2001, he succeeded Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli as archbishop of Florence. He was elevated to cardinal in the consistory of Oct. 21, 2003.
Curial membership:
* Laity, Social Communications (councils)
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Francis Arinze, 72
Prefect of Congregation of Divine Worship and the Sacraments
Francis Arinze was born Nov. 1, 1932, in Eziowelle, a city of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria. At age 15 he began his secondary studies at the All Hallowa Seminary (Ognissanti) of Nuewi, studies which he concluded in 1950 at Enugu.
For the following two years he taught at the same sem
inary until 1953, when he took up philosophy studies at Bigard Memorial Seminary at Enugu. In 1955 he began to take courses in theology at the Urbanian University. Only three years later he was ordained to the priesthood during a ceremony which took place at the church of the Urban University in Rome on Nov. 23, 1958.
From 1961-1962, he was professor of liturgy and also taught logic and basic philosophy at Bigard Memorial Seminary at Enugu. He was then appointed regional secretary for Catholic education for the eastern part of his country. When transferred to London, he took courses at the Institute of Pedagogy, earning a diploma in 1964.
On July 6, 1965, he was named coadjutor to the archbishop of Onitsha. On Aug. 29, 1965, he was consecrated bishop. Two years later he was asked to take over the pastoral government of the archdiocese, and on June 26, 1967, he was named archbishop.
In 1979 his brother bishops elected him president of the episcopal conference of Nigeria, a post he filled until 1984, when John Paul II asked him to head as pro-president the Secretariat for Non-Christians (now the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue).
He remained Archbishop of Onitsha until April 1985, while awaiting the nomination of a successor.
He was president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue from May 1985 to October 2002.
On May 8, 1994, he presided in the capacity of first president delegate at the solemn closing of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops at the altar of the Chair of St. Peter’s Basilica.
On Oct. 1, 2002, he was named prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
Curial membership:
* Doctrine of the Faith, Oriental Churches, Causes of Saints, Evangelization of Peoples (congregations)
* Laity, Christian Unity, Culture (councils)
* International Eucharistic Congresses (committee)
* Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
* Special Council for Africa and Special Council for Lebanon of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
He was elevated to cardinal in the consistory of May 25, 1985.
