
Giovanni Battista Re
Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 2000 to 2010. As the senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the March 2013 papal conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor. Pope Francis approved his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals on 18 January 2020.
Giovanni Battista Re
16 September 2000
30 June 2010
- Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto (2002–present)
- Dean of the College of Cardinals (2020–present)
- Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia (2020–present)
3 March 1957
by Giacinto Tredici
7 November 1987
by Pope John Paul II
21 February 2001
by Pope John Paul II
Cardinal-Bishop (2002–present)
Italian
Matteo Re (father)
- Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops (1987–1989)
- Titular Bishop of Forum Novum (1987–2001)
- Substitute for General Affairs (1989–2000)
- President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (2000–2010)
- Cardinal-Priest of Santi XII Apostoli (2001–2002)
- Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals (2017–2020)
- Virtus ex alto
(Power from on high)
His Eminence
Your Eminence
Ostia and Sabina-Poggio Mirteto (suburbicarian dioceses)
Early years[edit]
Born in Borno, Italy, the son of the carpenter Matteo Re (1908–2012),[1] Giovanni Battista Re was ordained a priest by Archbishop Giacinto Tredici in Brescia on 3 March 1957. He holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and taught in the Brescia seminary. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1961.[2]