Ivan Dias Indian Cardinal, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since May 20, 2006 Date of Birth: 14.04.1936 Country: India

Biography of Ivan Dias

Ivan Dias is an Indian cardinal who served as the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from May 20, 2006. He was also the Archbishop of Bombay from November 8, 1996 to October 14, 2006. Dias was ordained as a priest by Cardinal Valerian Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay, on December 8, 1958.

Dias completed his seminary studies in Bombay and then pursued his education at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, one of the oldest diplomatic training institutions in Europe and the world. He obtained a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University. Dias is fluent in Hindi, English, Italian, Spanish, and French.

After serving in various parishes in the Archdiocese of Bombay from 1958 to 1961, Dias continued his studies in Rome. He then joined the Vatican's Secretariat of State, where he played a role in the preparation of Pope Paul VI's visit to Bombay in 1964. From 1965 to 1973, Dias served as secretary in various nunciatures in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Comoros, Reunion Island, and Mauritius.

From 1973 to 1982, Dias worked in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, heading the department responsible for relations with the USSR, the Baltic republics, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

On May 8, 1982, Dias was appointed as the pro-nuncio to Ghana, Togo, and Benin, concurrently serving as the titular bishop of Ruzibisira. He was ordained as a bishop by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the Vatican's Secretary of State, on June 19, 1982. Dias then served as the apostolic nuncio to Korea from June 20, 1987, and as the nuncio to Albania from January 16, 1991. During his time in Albania, Dias played a crucial role in the revival of the Catholic Church after the collapse of the communist regime.

On November 8, 1996, Dias was appointed as the Archbishop of Bombay. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in the consistory held on February 21, 2001. Dias became a member of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See on March 10, 2001. He participated in the 2005 papal conclave and was considered by experts as a papabile, a possible contender for the vacant papal throne.

Dias has been associated, according to some reports, with the Catholic secular organization "Opus Dei," but representatives of the Vatican strongly denied this claim.

On May 20, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Dias as the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He stepped down from the position of Archbishop of Bombay on October 14, 2006.