Renato Martino Italian curial cardinal. Date of Birth: 23.11.1932 Country: Italy

Biography of Cardinal Renato Martino

Renato Raffaele Martino was born on November 23, 1932, in Salerno, Italy. He received his education at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he studied philosophy and theology. He also attended the Pontifical Lateran University, where he studied civil and canon law. Martino furthered his studies at the Pontifical Institute of the Lateran University, specializing in canon law. He also studied at the Sacred Roman Rota (ecclesiastical court) and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, specializing in diplomacy.

In addition to his native Italian, Martino is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. He was ordained as a priest on June 27, 1957, in Salerno by Archbishop Demetrio Moscato.

After completing his education, Martino joined the diplomatic service of the Vatican on July 1, 1962. He served as an attaché at the Apostolic Nunciature in Nicaragua and later became a chamberlain of His Holiness on July 8, 1963. Martino then served as the secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in the Philippines and Lebanon.

In the Vatican's Secretariat of State, Martino worked as an auditor of the second class at the Apostolic Nunciature from 1970 to 1975. He then served as a counselor at the Apostolic Nunciature in Brazil from 1975 to 1980. On September 14, 1980, he was appointed as the Titular Archbishop of Segerme and served as the Pro-Nuncio to Thailand and Singapore, as well as the Apostolic Delegate to Laos and Malaysia from September 14, 1980, to December 3, 1986.

Martino was consecrated as a bishop on December 14, 1980, in Rome by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the Secretary of State of the Vatican. He was appointed as the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York on December 1, 1986, and served in this role until October 1, 2002.

On October 1, 2002, Martino was appointed by Pope John Paul II as the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal on October 21, 2003, and became the Cardinal Deacon of San Francesco di Paolo ai Monti. He participated as one of the cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave, which elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Since March 11, 2006, Martino has served as the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. He also continues to serve as the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, making him the head of two papal councils simultaneously. According to Vatican sources, he is close to the current pontiff and his inner circle.