 |
Jozef TomkoCardinal-priest with the title of the church S. Sabina.
Date of Birth: 11.03.1942
Country:  Italy |
Content:
- Biography of Cardinal Jozef Tomko
- Pastoral Work and Academic Career
- Episcopal Ministry
- Cardinal and Vatican Roles
- Chairmanship of the Papal Committee
Biography of Cardinal Jozef Tomko
Early Life and EducationJozef Tomko was born on March 11, 1924, in the village of Udavské, near the town of Gumenne, in Czechoslovakia (modern-day Slovakia). He studied at the Theological Faculty of Bratislava and then traveled to Rome to study at the Pontifical Lateran Athenaeum and the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained his doctorates in theology, canon law, and social sciences.
Pastoral Work and Academic Career
Tomko was ordained a priest on March 12, 1949, by Luigi Traglia, the Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Palestine and Vicar of Rome. He served in various pastoral roles in Rome and Porto e Santa Rufina from 1950 to 1979. During this time, he also served as the Vice-Rector and later the Rector of the Pontifical Nepomucenum College. He taught at the International University Pro Deo from 1955 to 1956. Tomko was appointed a Secret Chamberlain to His Holiness on December 5, 1959, and August 3, 1963. He joined the Roman Curia in 1962 as an assistant in the section on banned books of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Episcopal Ministry
Tomko was appointed Honorary Prelate of His Holiness on June 17, 1970, and a professor at his alma mater, the Pontifical Gregorian University, during the same year. In addition to his academic duties, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops in 1974. He also co-founded the religious journal Institute of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Rome. On July 12, 1979, Tomko was appointed Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops and Titular Archbishop of Doclea by Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated as a bishop in the Sistine Chapel on September 15, 1979, by Pope John Paul II himself.
Cardinal and Vatican Roles
On April 24, 1985, Tomko was appointed Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On May 25, 1985, he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal-Deacon with the diaconate of Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola. On May 27, he was further promoted to become the full Prefect of the congregation and the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. During his tenure, Cardinal Tomko became a close trusted advisor to Pope John Paul II and served as a special papal envoy for various religious celebrations and events in different countries. He was named a member of the Pre-Synodal Council for the Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops in September 1995. After ten years as a cardinal-deacon, he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal-Priest (with the title of the titular church of Santa Sabina) on January 29, 1996.
Chairmanship of the Papal Committee
On October 23, 2001, Tomko was appointed Chairman of the Papal Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, concluding his long sixteen-year tenure as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. In this role, he led the Holy See delegation to the interreligious congress in Astana, Kazakhstan, from September 23 to September 24, 2003. He lost the right to participate in any future papal conclaves upon reaching the age of eighty on March 11, 2004. Following the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005, Tomko and all major Vatican officials automatically lost their positions during the Sede Vacante period. Later on April 21, he was reconfirmed as Chairman of the Papal Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses by Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Tomko stepped down from his position on October 1, 2007.
