Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, is an influential veteran senior Vatican official whose career in the Roman Curia spans five decades.

Born on January 30, 1934, in Borno, Italy, Re was ordained priest in 1957 and holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Re’s career in the Vatican began in 1963 when he joined the Roman Curia. He served as personal secretary to Archbishop Giovanni Benelli and held various diplomatic positions before being appointed as Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops in 1987. In 1989, he became the Substitute for General Affairs of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, a key position responsible for the day-to-day running of the Holy See. He held the position for 11 years.

In 2000 Pope John Paul II named him to the influential role of prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. Re served in these positions until 2010, playing a crucial part in the appointment of bishops worldwide.

As a senior cardinal, Re has participated in several notable events, including the conclaves of 2005 and 2013. On January 18, 2020, Pope Francis approved Re’s election as Dean of the College of Cardinals, a position of considerable influence.¹During a conclave, the Dean summons the cardinals to Rome, presides of General Congregations, communicates news of a pope’s death to diplomats and heads of state, and presides over the actual conclave to elect a new pope. He is the public face of the Church during the sede vacante period between popes. The Dean also serves as important adviser to the Pope, both individually and as head of the College of Cardinals. Until recently, the Dean served for life, allowing for long-term influence. Though now limited to 5-year renewable terms.

Cardinal Re has taken a strong stance against abortion. In 2009, he defended the excommunication of those involved in providing an abortion to a 9-year-old rape victim in Brazil, stating that “the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated” and that “life must always be protected.”

As prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Re played a central role in Benedict XVI’s attempts to discipline former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, which came to light following Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s 2018 Testimony and in the later “McCarrick Report.” In 2006, Cardinal Re instructed the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States, Nuncio Pietro Sambi, to convey to McCarrick that he should maintain a lower profile and minimize travel for the good of the Church. The instruction was given orally at first, and then in writing in 2008.²It’s important to note that while these instructions were approved by Pope Benedict XVI, they did not carry the Pope’s explicit imprimatur. The McCarrick report clarified that the instructions were not based on a factual finding that McCarrick had actually committed misconduct, and they did not include a prohibition on public ministry. Re declined to answer media questions on the McCarrick affair.

In 2009, Re was also involved in the decision to remove excommunications from bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X. He signed and issued the decree, but the decision to lift the excommunications came directly from Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Re’s role was to execute the Pope’s decision through the official channels of the Congregation for Bishops.

In 2020 as the newly appointed Dean, Cardinal Re sent a letter to all the cardinals claiming that the controversial China-Vatican agreement represented the views of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, and that Cardinal Joseph Zen was mistaken in his opposition. Cardinal Zen, a vocal critic of the Vatican’s approach to China, had previously written to his fellow cardinals in September 2019, expressing his concerns about the agreement. Zen responded to Re’s letter, challenging him to provide evidence of Benedict XVI’s approval of the agreement and questioning why it wasn’t signed earlier if that was the case. This dispute revealed deep disagreements within the hierarchy about the best way to engage with China and protect the interests of Chinese Catholics, with Cardinal Re and Cardinal Zen representing opposing viewpoints on the matter.

Although conservative on some matters of Church doctrine, politically Cardinal Re has long been known to adhere to the views of Italy’s center-left.

Despite his advanced age, Cardinal Re continues to wield significant influence in the Vatican.

Cardinal Re has been a key adviser to Pope Francis in recent years, allegedly deterring the Pope from appointing a German bishop as head of the DDF in 2023.  Despite his advanced years, Re has also repeatedly stood in for the Pope at the altar during celebrations.

He is known for his affable manner and efficient approach to issues and conflicts. Pope Francis has described Re as someone who openly disagrees with him on some issues but whose advice and opinion he nevertheless values.