# Giovanni Lajolo

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Italian cardinal (born 1935)

Giovanni Lajolo President Emeritus of the Governorate of Vatican City State Portrait of Lajolo Appointed 15 September 2006 Term ended 1 October 2011 Predecessor Edmund Szoka Successor Giuseppe Bertello Other post Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Liberatrice a Monte Testaccio "pro hac vice" Previous posts Titular Archbishop of Caesariana (1988–2007) Secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (1988–1995) Apostolic Nuncio to Germany (1995–2003) Secretary (Relations with States) of the Secretariat of State (2003–2006) President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (2006–2011) Orders Ordination 29 April 1960 by Ugo Poletti Consecration 6 January 1989 by Pope John Paul II Created cardinal 24 November 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI Rank Cardinal-Deacon (2007–18) Cardinal-Priest (from 2018) Personal details Born Giovanni Lajolo (1935-01-03) 3 January 1935 (age 91) Novara, Italy Alma mater Pontifical Roman Seminary Pontifical Gregorian University LMU Munich Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy Coat of arms

Styles of Giovanni Lajolo Reference style His Eminence Spoken style Your Eminence Informal style Cardinal See Caesariana

**Giovanni Lajolo** (born 3 January 1935) is an Italian [cardinal](/source/Cardinal_(Catholic_Church)) and former [president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State](/source/President_of_the_Pontifical_Commission_for_Vatican_City_State) and president of the Governorate of [Vatican City State](/source/Vatican_City_State).

## Early life and ordination

Giovanni Lajolo was born on 3 January 1935 in [Novara](/source/Novara), Italy. He studied at the [Seminary](/source/Seminary) of [Novara](/source/Novara), the [Pontifical Roman Seminary](/source/Pontifical_Roman_Seminary), and the [Pontifical Gregorian University](/source/Pontifical_Gregorian_University) where he earned a [licentiate](/source/Licentiate_(degree)) in philosophy in 1955 and a [licentiate](/source/Licentiate_(degree)) in [theology](/source/Theology) in 1959. He was ordained a priest on 29 April 1960.[1] He entered [LMU Munich](/source/LMU_Munich) where he studied for a doctorate in [canon law](/source/Canon_law) which he was awarded in 1965. Then, in 1965, he entered the elite [Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy](/source/Pontifical_Ecclesiastical_Academy) to study diplomacy, leaving in 1968.

## Secretariat of State

He entered the service of the Secretariat of State in 1970. He worked in the [nunciature](/source/Nunciature) in [Germany](/source/Germany), collaborating with [Corrado Bafile](/source/Corrado_Bafile), future cardinal, from 1970 to November 1974. He was a staff member of the Council for Public Affairs of the Church from November 1974. He was named counsellor of nunciature on 1 January 1983. He closely followed the negotiations that led to the signing, in 1984, of the revision of the [concordat](/source/Concordat) between [Italy](/source/Italy) and [Holy See](/source/Holy_See).

## Bishop

On 3 October 1988, Lajolo was appointed [Secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See](/source/Administration_of_the_Patrimony_of_the_Apostolic_See) and [Titular Archbishop](/source/Titular_bishop) of [Caesariana](/source/Mauretania_Caesariensis)[2] by [Pope John Paul II](/source/Pope_John_Paul_II). He received his [episcopal consecration](/source/Bishop_(Catholicism)) on 6 January 1989 from John Paul, with archbishops [Edward Idris Cassidy](/source/Edward_Idris_Cassidy) and [José Tomás Sánchez](/source/Jos%C3%A9_Tom%C3%A1s_S%C3%A1nchez) serving as [co-consecrators](/source/Consecrator), in [St. Peter's Basilica](/source/St._Peter's_Basilica). Lajolo was named [Nuncio to Germany](/source/Apostolic_Nunciature_to_Germany) on 7 December 1995, and [Secretary for Relations with States](/source/Secretary_for_Relations_with_States) on 7 October 2003. As Secretary, he served as the [foreign minister](/source/Foreign_minister) of the [Vatican](/source/Holy_See).

## Secretary for Relations with States

He served as the [Secretary for Relations with States](/source/Secretary_for_Relations_with_States) in the [Secretariat of State](/source/Secretariat_of_State_(Vatican)), or [foreign minister](/source/Foreign_minister) of the [Holy See](/source/Holy_See), from 2003 until he was appointed president in 2006.[1] He speaks Italian, German, English and French.

At a 2004 conference Lajolo said that perfect religious freedom does not exist in any country in the world: "Even in states in which the right to religious freedom is taken very seriously, perfection is missing, often because a concern for church-state separation leads to penalising religious activity in the public sphere." He went on to say that "government and taxation policies may limit the rights of parents to choose a religious education for their children or may penalise the charitable work of the church by not recognising its nonprofit status. Attempts to ban religiously motivated positions from public policy debates are also infringements on religious freedom." Lajolo and other speakers at the conference also voiced concern about the increasing threats to Christians in Iraq and in other countries with a Muslim majority following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.[3]

In 2005 Lajolo was awarded Knight Grand Cross of the [Order of Merit of the Italian Republic](/source/Order_of_Merit_of_the_Italian_Republic).[4]

## Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State

On 22 June 2006, Lajolo was appointed [President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State](/source/President_of_the_Pontifical_Commission_for_Vatican_City_State) and of the Governorate of [Vatican City State](/source/Vatican_City) by [Pope Benedict XVI](/source/Pope_Benedict_XVI). In virtue of these two posts, he is delegated [legislative](/source/Legislature) and [executive authority](/source/Executive_(government)) over the Vatican City by the pope. He was made [Cardinal-Deacon](/source/Cardinal-Deacon) of [Santa Maria Liberatrice a Monte Testaccio](/source/Santa_Maria_Liberatrice_a_Monte_Testaccio) in the [consistory](/source/Papal_consistory) of 24 November 2007.[5]

He submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict when he turned 75 in January 2010. His resignation was accepted on 3 September 2011, with Archbishop [Giuseppe Bertello](/source/Giuseppe_Bertello) appointed as his successor as of 1 October 2011.

He was one of the [cardinal electors](/source/Cardinal_electors_in_Papal_conclave%2C_2013) who participated in the [2013 papal conclave](/source/Papal_conclave%2C_2013) that elected [Pope Francis](/source/Pope_Francis).

## Curial work

He was made a member of the [Congregation for Bishops](/source/Congregation_for_Bishops), [Pontifical Council for Culture](/source/Pontifical_Council_for_Culture), and [Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See](/source/Administration_of_the_Patrimony_of_the_Apostolic_See) (of which he had once been Secretary) on 12 June 2008.[6] On 25 January 2010, he was appointed a member of the [Apostolic Signatura](/source/Apostolic_Signatura), the Church's highest court.[7] He remained as a member of these bodies until his 80th birthday in 2015.

## Acknowledgements

- [Order of Duke Trpimir](/source/Order_of_Duke_Trpimir) (2008)[8]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bio_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bio_1-1) ["Biographical notes"](https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_lajolo_g_en.html). Holy See. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Caesariana (Titular See)- Catholic Hierarchy](http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d3c28.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Just a moment"](http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041203215434/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0406633.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0406633.htm) on 3 December 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2004.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [quirinale.it](http://www.quirinale.it/elementi/DettaglioOnorificenze.aspx?decorato=161537)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Uffici di Presidenza S.C.V. ["President of the Governorate of Vatican City State"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080917081022/http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Structure_Governorate/Presidency/President/index.htm). Governorate of Vatican City State. Archived from [the original](http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Structure_Governorate/Presidency/President/index.htm) on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-HS_6-0)** ["Nomina Di Cardinali Membri Dei Dicasteri Della Curia Romana"](http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/22278.php?index=22278&lang=en). *Rinunce e Nomine* (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [\[1\]](http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/25033.php?index=25033&po_date=25.01.2010&lang=en#NOMINA%20DEL%20NUNZIO%20APOSTOLICO%20IN%20CAMERUN%20E%20IN%20GUINEA%20EQUATORIALE)[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Odluka o odlikovanju Njegove Ekscelencije Mgr. Giovannia Lajole Redom kneza Trpimira s ogrlicom i Danicom"](http://www.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeno/2008/3237.htm). *[Narodne novine](/source/Narodne_novine)* (in Croatian) (110). 2008.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Giovanni Lajolo](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Giovanni_Lajolo).

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Giovanni Lajolo](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Giovanni_Lajolo)***.

- ["Lajolo Card. Giovanni"](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_lajolo_g.html). [Holy See Press Office](/source/Holy_See_Press_Office). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160919114538/http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_lajolo_g.html) from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2017.

- [Catholic-Hierarchy.org profile](http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/blajolo.html)

- [Cardinal Lajolo(2006),*Today's world and the ideology of power*. General Debate of the 61st session of the General Assembly of the United Nations](https://www.un.org/webcast/ga/61/pdfs/holy_see-e.pdf)

Diplomatic posts Preceded by Lajos Kada Apostolic Nuncio to Germany 7 December 1995 – 7 October 2003 Succeeded by Erwin Josef Ender Political offices Preceded by Jean-Louis Tauran Secretary for Relations with States 7 October 2003 – 15 September 2006 Succeeded by Dominique Mamberti Catholic Church titles Preceded by Angelo Felici — TITULAR — Titular Archbishop of Cæsariana 3 October 1988 – 24 November 2007 Succeeded by Josaphat Oleh Hovera Preceded by Lorenzo Antonetti Secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See 3 October 1988 – 7 December 1995 Succeeded by Claudio Maria Celli Preceded by Jozef Zlatňanský Secretary of the Interdicasterial Commission for the Church in Eastern Europe 8 June 2004 – 15 September 2006 Succeeded by Dominique François Joseph Mamberti Preceded by Edmund Szoka President of the Governatorate of Vatican City State 15 September 2006 – 1 October 2011 Succeeded by Giuseppe Bertello President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State 15 September 2006 – 1 October 2011 Preceded by Antonio María Javierre Ortas Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria Liberatrice a Monte Testaccio 24 November 2007 – 19 May 2018 Himself as Cardinal-Priest Himself as Cardinal-Deacon Cardinal-Priest 'pro hac vice' of Santa Maria Liberatrice a Monte Testaccio 19 May 2018 – Incumbent

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Giovanni Lajolo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Lajolo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Lajolo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.