Giovanni Cheli
Italy- Early Life and Education
- Ordination and Early Career
- Diplomatic Career
- Permanent Observer at the United Nations
- Archbishopric and Pontifical Council
- Cardinalate and Later Career
Early Life and Education
Born on October 4, 1918, in Turin, Giovanni Cheli received his education at the seminary in Asti and excelled in canon law. He pursued his doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome in 1942, where he also earned a licentiate in theology. Additionally, he graduated from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, specializing in diplomacy.
Ordination and Early Career
On April 21, 1942, Cheli was ordained a priest. He returned to his parish in Asti and served as diocesan assistant to young members of Catholic Action. After pastoral work in Rome, he entered the diplomatic service of the Vatican in 1952. On March 2, 1953, he became a supernumerary privy chamberlain of His Holiness, a role confirmed on October 28, 1958.
Diplomatic Career
Cheli held a minor post as an attaché at the nunciature in Guatemala before ascending to more significant positions in Spain and Italy: secretary at the nunciature in Spain from 1955 to 1962, where he continued his pastoral work in Madrid, and counselor at the nunciature in Italy from 1962 to 1967. On March 1, 1965, he became a privy chamberlain of His Holiness. He subsequently worked for the Pontifical Council for Public Affairs from 1967 to 1973.
Permanent Observer at the United Nations
Cheli's role as a leading Vatican diplomat was cemented when he became the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations on July 25, 1973, and again in 1976. He was renowned for his expertise on Vatican issues vis-à-vis Eastern European communist countries, and he was consecrated a bishop in 1978 during the unusually short pontificate of Pope John Paul I.
Archbishopric and Pontifical Council
On September 8, 1978, Cheli was appointed titular archbishop of Santa Giusta and nominated as apostolic nuncio. He was ordained on September 16, 1978, in the Vatican, with Cardinal Jean Villot presiding.
His combination of Curia knowledge and pastoral care prepared Cheli ideally for the role of President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, which he held continuously for two decades from the start of John Paul II's pontificate.
Cardinalate and Later Career
John Paul II elevated Cheli to the College of Cardinals at the consistory on February 24, 1998, with the title of Cardinal Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano. This was seen as a reward for his service as a Vatican diplomat, but his elevation was somewhat bittersweet as he passed the age limit for voting in the conclave during the same year, rendering him ineligible to participate in future conclaves.
Cheli became unusually outspoken for a cardinal appointed by John Paul II. He was a prominent critic of the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003 within the Roman Catholic Church.
Together with Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, Cheli became a vocal critic of the rule mandating cardinals to retire from the conclave at age 80. On Silvestrini's 80th birthday (five years after his own), Cheli remarked to The Observer in December 2003: "It's a great privation for the cardinals. Perhaps different rules can be used in the future. Perhaps those who have lost their minds should not vote. We all know who they are. And some of them are in their 70s."
He later expressed his criticism of some of Pope Benedict XVI's appointments within the Roman Curia, believing that Benedict XVI was not sufficiently considering relevant diplomatic experience when selecting prelates for the Secretariat of State. On March 1, 2008, he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal Priest. His titular diaconate was raised pro hac vice to a titular church after 10 years of having been a Cardinal Deacon.
