Romeo, Paolo

Romeo was the fifth of nine children. After elementary school, he entered seminary and began to study theology .

He received a degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University , defended his doctoral dissertation in canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University .

Romeo was ordained a priest on March 18, 1961 . In 1964, he began his studies at the Pontifical Academy of the Church , and on January 1, 1967 he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, worked in papal missions: Philippines , Belgium , Luxembourg , the European Union , Venezuela , Rwanda and Burundi .

In 1976 he was recalled to the State Secretariat of the Holy See to control the life of the Catholic community in Latin America and the Latin American Episcopal Conference , especially during preparations for the III General Conference of the continent, which opened on January 29, 1979 .

On December 17, 1983, he was appointed titular archbishop of Vulturia by Pope John Paul II, and on the same day he was appointed apostolic nuncio in Haiti . The Archbishop of Romeo remained in Haiti until his appointment as an Apostolic Nuncio in Colombia in April 1990 . Nine years later, he was transferred to Canada .

From April 17, 2001, he represented the Holy See in Italy and San Marino .

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Romeo to the pulpit of Palermo on December 19, 2006 to replace Cardinal Salvatore De Georgi , who reached his 75th birthday - the retirement age in September 2005 . He received pallium in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on June 29, 2007 from Pope Benedict XVI along with the other 45 metropolitans - archbishops .

On October 20, 2010, during a general audience at St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of 24 new cardinals, including Paolo Romeo.

On November 20, 2010, a consistory was held on which Cardinal Paolo Romeo was entrusted with a cardinal hat and he became a cardinal priest with the title Santa Maria Hodegetria dei Siciliani . According to tradition, Archbishop Romeo was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest in this consistory , as he occupies the Palermo department , which historically gives the right to receive a cardinal hat . ^[1] On November 21, a solemn mass was held on the occasion of the presentation of cardinal rings .

Member of the Conclave 2013 .

On October 27, 2015, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Paolo Romeo, due to reaching the age limit, according to the Code of Canon Law .