Francis Cardinal Arinze

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Francis Cardinal Arinze.
Francis Cardinal Arinze.

His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze (born 1 November 1932 in Eziowelle, Nigeria) is an African prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since 2002 and Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni (succeeding Pope Benedict XVI) since 2005. Arinze was one of the principal advisors to Pope John Paul II, and was considered papabile (a possible pope) before the election of Benedict XVI.


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[edit] Early life

Arinze was born in Inglewood Eziowelle, Anambra, Nigeria. A convert from an African natural religion,[1] he was baptized on his ninth birthday (1 November 1941) by Father Michael Tansi, who was beatified by John Paul II in 1998. His parents themselves later converted to Catholicism. At age 15, he entered All Hallows Seminary of Nnewi from which he graduated in 1950. His father was initially opposed to him entering the seminary, but after seeing how much Francis enjoyed it, he encouraged him. Arinze stayed at All Hallows until 1953 to teach. In 1955, he went to Rome to study theology at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. On 23 November 1958, at the chapel of the university, Arinze was ordained to the priesthood by Grégoire-Pierre Cardinal Agagianian, pro-prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.

[edit] As priest

From 1961 to 1962, Arinze was professor of liturgy, logic and basic philosophy at Bigard Memorial Seminary. From there, he was appointed regional secretary for Catholic education for the eastern part of Nigeria. Eventually, Arinze was transferred to London, where he attended the Institute of Education and graduated in 1964.

[edit] As archbishop

On 6 July 1965, Arinze returned to Nigeria, and was named coadjutor archbishop of Onitsha and titular archbishop of Fissiana. Consecrated on 29 August that same year by Archbishop Charles Heerey, C.S. Sp., he became the youngest bishop in the world at the age of 32. It was as coadjutor that Arinze proved himself a highly intelligent and able leader. Only two years later, he was asked to take over the government of the Archdiocese of Onitsha and on 26 June 1967 was appointed its archbishop.

In 1979, Archbishop Arinze continued to rise in the ranks of the hierarchy. His peers elected him President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria where he served until 1984.

[edit] As cardinal

In 1984, Pope John Paul II requested his services to become Pro-Prefect of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, known today as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. On 8 April 1985 Arinze resigned from his post in Onitsha, and the Pope named him a Cardinal Deacon, with the title of S. Giovanni della Pigna in the consistory of that 25 May; he was raised to the rank of Cardinal Priest in 1996. Two days following his elevation to Cardinal Deacon, Arinze was appointed President of Interreligious Dialogue, and held the office until 1 October 2002, when he was named Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Styles of
Francis Cardinal Arinze
Reference style His Eminence
Spoken style Your Eminence
Informal style Cardinal
See Velletri (suburbicarian see)

Arinze was also one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI; as with custom, he was suspended from his post as prefect on the death of John Paul II on 2 April, and then confirmed by Benedict XVI on 21 April. On 25 April 2005 he was advanced to Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni, which had been vacated by the ascension of Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy.

He will be eligible to participate in any future conclaves before his 80th birthday on 1 November 2012.

[edit] World dignitary

His service on the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue thrust Cardinal Arinze to a position of increased visibility to the world public. On 8 May 1994, he presided at the altar of the Chair of St. Peter's Basilica as President of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. On 24 October 1999 he received a gold medallion from the International Council of Christians and Jews for his outstanding achievements in inter-faith relations. He traveled extensively and became a popular speaker in the United States, where he cultivated many devotees of his pastoral leadership.

Cardinal Arinze became even more visible to the world public as a member of the Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. In that capacity, he worked closely with individual bishops and priests throughout the world in preparation for the rare celebration of the Church. Pope John Paul II was greatly impressed with the leadership of Cardinal Arinze and on 1 October 2002, he became Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. On April 25, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI further honored Cardinal Arinze by naming him Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni, replacing Benedict himself in that titular see.

[edit] Quotations

  • "In many parts of the world, the family is under siege. It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. It is scorned and banalized by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce."
  • On an attack on "intellectual liberals": "If a child refuses to accept its father or mother, that child is not a liberal, that child is a brat. And how much more important is God to us than a parent to a child?"

[edit] Publications

[edit] References

  1. ^ God's Invisible Hand: The Life and Work of Francis Cardinal Arinze, an Interview with Gerard O'Connell, pp. 12–21 (Ignatius Press, 2006) ISBN 978-1-58617-135-3

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez		 Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
2002–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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