Dionigi Cardinal Tettamanzi
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His Eminence Dionigi Cardinal Tettamanzi (born 14 March 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archbishop of Milan, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1998. Previous to his service in Milan, Tettamanzi was Archbishop of Genoa.
[edit] Episcopacy
| Styles of Dionigi Tettamanzi |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Milan |
He was born in Renate, in the province of Milan, to Egidio and Giuditta (née Ciceri) Tettamanzi.
After studying in local seminaries, he was ordained a priest on 28 June 1957 by Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini (the future Pope Paul VI). He served in the Archdiocese of Milan until 1 July 1989 when Pope John Paul II named Tettamanzi archbishop of Ancona-Osimo. He received his episcopal consecration from Jesuit Carlo Cardinal Martini at the cathedral on the following 23 September. Upon being chosen Secretary-General and Vice President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Tettamanzi submitted his resignation as bishop on 6 April 1991.
John Paul II called Tettamanzi back into active ministry by appointing him to the Archdiocese of Genoa. He was appointed its archbishop on April 20, 1995, and in the consistory of February 21, 1998, Tettamanzi Cardinal Priest with the title of Ss. Ambrogio e Carlo. Upon the announced retirement of Cardinal Martini, Tettamanzi was reassigned as archbishop of Milan on 11 July 2002.
With the death and funeral of Pope John Paul II came intense speculation as to his successor. Tettamanzi's position as prelate of an archdiocese that was historically seen as a step towards the papacy (and considered one of the wealthiest and most powerful of Italian dioceses), as well as his charisma and popularity among the people, placed him as one of the overall favorites to become John Paul II's successor. He was the leading Italian candidate, but the Italian cardinals are now a minority in the college, and the German Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected instead, becoming Pope Benedict XVI.
Tettamanzi is said to speak only Italian, which would be a disadvantage nowadays, when national leaders (and specially popes, after the era of John Paul II) are sometimes required to master foreign languages, mainly English.
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| Preceded by Giovanni Canestri |
Archbishop of Genova 1995–2002 |
Succeeded by Tarcisio Bertone |
| Preceded by Carlo Maria Martini |
Archbishop of Milan 2002 - Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
