# Marcello Semeraro

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Italian prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1947)

His Eminence Marcello Semeraro Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Semeraro in 2017 Church Roman Catholic Church See Santa Maria in Domnica Appointed 15 October 2020 Predecessor Giovanni Angelo Becciu Other posts Apostolic Administrator of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata (2013–) Pontifical Delegate for the Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata (2016–) Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica (2020–) Previous posts Bishop of Oria (1998–2004) Bishop of Albano (2004–2020) Secretary of the Council of Cardinals (2013–2020) Orders Ordination 8 September 1971 by Francesco Minerva Consecration 29 September 1998 by Cosmo Francesco Ruppi Created cardinal 28 November 2020 by Francis Rank Cardinal-Deacon Personal details Born Marcello Semeraro (1947-12-22) 22 December 1947 (age 78) Monteroni di Lecce, Lecce, Italy Alma mater Pontifical Lateran University Motto In spiritu seminare Coat of arms

**Marcello Semeraro** (born 22 December 1947) is an [Italian Catholic](/source/Catholic_Church_in_Italy) prelate who has served as prefect of the [Dicastery for the Causes of Saints](/source/Dicastery_for_the_Causes_of_Saints) since 2020. He was previously [Bishop of Albano](/source/Suburbicarian_Diocese_of_Albano) and secretary to the [College of Cardinals](/source/Council_of_Cardinal_Advisers). [Pope Francis](/source/Pope_Francis) made him a [cardinal](/source/Cardinal_(Catholic_Church)) in 2020.

## Biography

Semeraro was born in [Monteroni di Lecce](/source/Monteroni_di_Lecce), [Province of Lecce](/source/Province_of_Lecce), Italy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 8 September 1971. He received his Doctor of Theology degree in 1980 from the [Pontifical Lateran University](/source/Pontifical_Lateran_University). On 25 July 1998 he was named [Bishop of Oria](/source/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Oria). He was consecrated on 29 September 1998 by Archbishop [Cosmo Francesco Ruppi](/source/Cosmo_Francesco_Ruppi) with Archbishops Domenico Caliandro and Donato Negro as co-consecrators.

He taught at the [Pontifical Lateran University](/source/Pontifical_Lateran_University) in 2001. [Pope John Paul II](/source/Pope_John_Paul_II) chose him as Special Secretary of the 2001 [Synod of Bishops](/source/Synod_of_Bishops_(Catholic)),[1] which considered the role of the bishops in contemporary society. That Synod's final statement pointed to social injustice as the root cause of terrorism and decried third world debt and "the enduring drama of hunger and extreme poverty". Semeraro commented: "There is a strong will to dismantle the image of bishops as men of power and to reinstitute the image of bishops as men of service."[2]

On 1 October 2004 he was named Bishop of Albano.

He is a Consultant to the [Congregation for the Clergy](/source/Congregation_for_the_Clergy) and the [Italian Episcopal Conference](/source/Italian_Episcopal_Conference) (IEC), and a member of the IEC Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith.

On 4 May 2007 he was elected president of the administrative board of the IEC newspaper *[Avvenire](/source/Avvenire)*, in place of Cardinal [Angelo Bagnasco](/source/Angelo_Bagnasco) of Genoa, who had been elected president of the IEC.

In June 2010, he became president of the IEC Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith.

On 13 April 2013 Pope Francis appointed him secretary of the commission of cardinals appointed to advise him on the government of the Church and the organization of the Roman Curia.[3]

On 4 November 2013, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Exarchic Monastery and [Territorial Abbacy of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata](/source/Territorial_Abbacy_of_Saint_Mary_of_Grottaferrata).[4]

In a 2017 interview, Semeraro described the work of the Council of Cardinals: listening, reflecting, and verifying. The Council, he said, listens to the contributions of the Church; reflects on those contributions, and looks into the details of them, considering the best way of going forward. It then makes proposals to the Pope; as Semeraro explained, the Council has a consultative role.[5]

On 15 October 2020, Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the [Congregation for the Causes of Saints](/source/Congregation_for_the_Causes_of_Saints).[6]

On 25 October 2020, Pope Francis announced he would raise him to the rank of [cardinal](/source/Cardinal_(Catholic_Church)) at a consistory scheduled for 28 November 2020.[7] At that consistory, Francis made him Cardinal-Deacon of [Santa Maria in Domnica](/source/Santa_Maria_in_Domnica).[8] On 16 December he was named a member of the [Congregation for Oriental Churches](/source/Congregation_for_Oriental_Churches) and the [Dicastery for Communications](/source/Dicastery_for_Communications).[9]

He participated as a [cardinal elector](/source/Cardinal_electors_in_the_2025_papal_conclave) in the [2025 papal conclave](/source/2025_papal_conclave) that elected [Pope Leo XIV](/source/Pope_Leo_XIV).[10]

## Works

- (in Italian) *Mistero, comunione e missione - Manuale di ecclesiologia* (Bologna, 2004)[11]

- (in Italian) *Dalla Parte del Padre* (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010)[12]

## See also

- [Cardinals created by Pope Francis](/source/Cardinals_created_by_Pope_Francis)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["X Ordinary General Assembly (30 September-27 October 2001)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110219231945/http://press.catholica.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sinodo_indice_en.html). *Synod of Bishops*. Holy See. Archived from [the original](http://press.catholica.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sinodo_indice_en.html) on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Henneberger, Melinda (28 October 2001). ["Social Justice And Terror Offer Bishops Tough Issue"](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/28/world/social-justice-and-terror-offer-bishops-tough-issue.html). *New York Times*. Retrieved 14 April 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** O'Connell, Gerard (14 April 2013). ["Pope Francis sets up a group of eight cardinals to advise him"](http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/francesco-francis-francisco-24044/). *La Stampa: Vatican Insider*. Retrieved 14 April 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Rinunce e Nomine, 04.11.2013"](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2013/11/04/0720/01611.html) (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Interview with Council Secretary](https://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/09/11/pope_francis_and_the_c9_interview_with_council_secretary/1336057)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Nomina del Prefetto della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi"](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/10/15/0526/01220.html). *Bolletino sala Stampa della Santa Sede*. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** O'Connell, Gerard (25 October 2020). ["Pope Francis names 13 new cardinals, including Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington D.C."](https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/10/25/pope-francis-new-cardinals-wilton-gregory-washington) [America](/source/America_(magazine)). Retrieved 25 October 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli, 28.11.2020"](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/11/28/0618/01449.html). *[Holy See Press Office](/source/Holy_See_Press_Office)* (in Italian). 28 November 2020. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201128155120/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/11/28/0618/01449.html) from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Resignations and Appointments, 16.12.2020"](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2020/12/16/201216a.html) (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Cardinal Electors"](https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html). Catholic-Hierarchy.org. 6 May 2025. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250506193115/https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html) from the original on 6 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Nota al testo di M. Semeraro, "Mistero, comunione e missione""](https://lacasadimiriam.altervista.org/ecclesiologia/nota-al-testo-di-m-semeraro-mistero-comunione-e-missione/) (in Italian). La Casa di Miriam Torino. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [*Dalla Parte del Padre*](https://www.libreriadelsanto.it/libri/9788820984144/dalla-parte-del-padre.html) (in Italian). Libreria del Santo. Retrieved 15 April 2013.

## External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Marcello Semeraro](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Marcello_Semeraro)***.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Marcello Semeraro](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Marcello_Semeraro).

- ["Semeraro Card. Marcello"](https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_semeraro_m.html). *[Holy See Press Office](/source/Holy_See_Press_Office)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201129021903/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_semeraro_m.html) from the original on 29 November 2020.

Catholic Church titles Preceded by Armando Franco Bishop of Oria 25 July 1998 – 1 October 2004 Succeeded by Michele Castoro Preceded by Agostino Vallini Bishop of Albano Laziale 1 October 2004 – 15 October 2020 Succeeded by Vincenzo Viva Preceded by Giovanni Angelo Becciu Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints 15 October 2020 – present Incumbent Preceded by William Joseph Levada Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica 28 November 2020 – present

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v t e Cardinals created by Francis 2014 Parolin Baldisseri Müller Stella Nichols Brenes Lacroix Kutwa Tempesta Bassetti Poli Yeom Ezzati Ouédraogo Quevedo Langlois Capovilla Aguilar Felix 2015 Mamberti Clemente Souraphiel Dew Menichelli Nhơn Suárez Inda Bo Kovitvanit Montenegro Sturla Blázquez Lacunza Gomes Furtado Mafi Pimiento De Magistris Rauber Villalba Langa 2016 Zenari Nzapalainga Osoro da Rocha Cupich D'Rozario Porras De Kesel Piat Farrell Aguiar Retes Ribat Tobin Fernandez Corti Khoarai Simoni 2017 Zerbo Omella Arborelius Mangkhanekhoun Rosa 2018 Sako Ladaria De Donatis Becciu Krajewski Coutts Marto Barreto Tsarahazana Petrocchi Maeda Obeso Ticona Bocos 2019 Ayuso de Mendonça Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo García Ambongo Hollerich Ramazzini Zuppi López Czerny Fitzgerald Tamkevičius Dal Corso 2020 Grech Semeraro Kambanda Gregory Advincula Aós Braco Sim Lojudice Gambetti Arizmendi Tomasi Cantalamessa Feroci 2022 Roche You Vérgez Aveline Okpaleke Steiner Ferrão McElroy do Carmo da Silva Cantoni Poola Costa Baawobr Goh Martínez Flores Marengo Jimenéz Miglio Ghirlanda Frezza 2023 Prevost Gugerotti Fernández Tscherrig Pierre Pizzaballa Brislin Rossi Rueda Ryś Mulla Cobo Rugambwa Francis Chow Bustillo Alves Aguiar Fernández Artime Marchetto Padrón Dri 2024 Acerbi Castillo Bokalic Cabrera Chomali Kikuchi David Nemet Spengler Bessi Dogbo Vesco Mathieu Repole Reina Leo Makrickas Bychok Radcliffe Baggio Koovakad Battaglia Catholic Church portal

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