Daniel Nicholas DiNardo American cardinal Date of Birth: 23.05.1949 Country: USA

Biography of Daniel Nicholas DiNardo

Daniel Nicholas DiNardo, an American cardinal, was born in Steubenville, Ohio to Nicholas and Jane (née Green) DiNardo. He grew up with three siblings: an older brother Thomas, a twin sister Margaret, and a younger sister Mary-Ann. The family later relocated to Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.

DiNardo attended St. Anne Elementary School from 1955 to 1963 and graduated from the Bishop's Latin School, managed by Jesuits, in 1967. He then enrolled in St. Paul Seminary, where he was classmates with David Zubik (who would later become the Bishop of Pittsburgh), and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. In 1969, DiNardo was awarded a Basilians scholarship in philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he later obtained a Master's degree in philosophy. He furthered his studies in Rome, earning a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and studying patrology at the Augustinianum.

On July 16, 1977, DiNardo was ordained a priest by Bishop Vincent Leonard of Pittsburgh. He served as an assistant parish vicar at St. Pius X Church in Brooklyn until 1980. In 1981, he was appointed assistant chancellor of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and concurrently served as a professor at St. Paul Seminary, where he also acted as the spiritual director for seminarians.

From 1984 to 1990, DiNardo worked in Rome as a staff member of the Congregation for Bishops in the Roman Curia. During this time, he also served as the director of Villa Stritch (1986-1989), a residence for American clergy working for the Holy See, and as an adjunct professor at the Pontifical North American College.

Upon his return to the United States in 1991, DiNardo was appointed assistant secretary for education of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and concurrently served as an associate pastor with Fr. Paul J. Bradley at Madonna del Castello Church in Swissvale. He became the pastor of the newly-founded Saints John and Paul Church in Franklin Park in 1994.

On August 19, 1997, DiNardo was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, by Pope John Paul II. He was ordained as a bishop on October 7, 1997, by Bishop Lawrence Soens of Sioux City, with Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh and Bishop Raymond Burke of La Crosse serving as co-consecrators, at the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. His episcopal motto was "Ave Crux Spes Unica," taken from the Latin hymn Vexilla Regis, meaning "Hail, O Cross, our only hope." He succeeded Bishop Soens as the sixth bishop of Sioux City upon the latter's resignation on November 28, 1998.

DiNardo was later appointed coadjutor bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, on January 16, 2004. The diocese was elevated to the rank of metropolitan see by Pope John Paul II on December 29, 2004, making DiNardo the coadjutor archbishop. When Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, DiNardo succeeded him as the second archbishop of Galveston-Houston on February 28, 2006. He received the pallium, the episcopal vestment worn by metropolitan archbishops, from Benedict XVI on June 29 of the same year.

As archbishop, DiNardo serves as the spiritual leader of approximately 1.3 million Catholics. He is assisted by auxiliary bishop Joe S. Vásquez. He has described the Church in Texas as having "a certain sense of itself... It's more relaxed, informal, I think, in a good way."

On October 17, 2007, the Holy See announced that DiNardo and 23 other prelates would be elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI. DiNardo was made a cardinal-priest of the titular church of Santa Eusebio on November 24, 2007, in St. Peter's Basilica. He will have the right to participate in any future papal conclaves until he reaches the age of 80 on May 23, 2029. He is the first cardinal-archbishop from the southern United States.

On January 17, 2009, DiNardo became a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture. In March of the same year, he characterized the selection of President Barack Obama to be the speaker at the commencement ceremony of the University of Notre Dame as "very disappointing," considering Obama's views on abortion.

DiNardo has recently been involved in a controversy regarding the destruction of Our Mother of Mercy Church on the Bolivar Peninsula. The church, which survived Hurricane Ike with minimal damage, was subject to a court order preventing its demolition. A former priest of the parish planned to celebrate Mass for the Bolivar community, but Cardinal DiNardo sought to prohibit him from doing so.

Currently, DiNardo serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America. He wears a hearing aid due to calcium deposits in his ears that have affected his hearing. Despite his hearing difficulties, he still prefers to sing or partially sing the Mass.