Cardinal Mario Aurelio Poli is a retired Archbishop of Buenos Aires who succeeded Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the city’s archbishop when Francis was elected pope in 2013. He has a similar pastoral approach to Francis and to be a promoter of interfaith dialogue.

Born on November 29, 1947, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mario Poli completed his primary education in a state school, and secondary education in the parish school of San Pedro Apóstol.

He attended the faculty of law and social sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, where he obtained the title of Licenziado en Servicio Social. At the age of 22, he entered the metropolitan seminary of Buenos Aires where he took courses in philosophy and theology and was ordained a priest on 25 November 1978, and was incardinated in Buenos Aires.

He holds a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Poli was ordained as a priest on November 25, 1978, at the age of 30, serving in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. Since 1980 he has taught ecclesiastical history at the faculty of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. He also held many other positions including chaplain, director of institutional vocations, and a member of a college of consultors and presbyteral council.

In 1992, the then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, appointed Poli director of the San José Vocational Institute, where seminarians from the archdiocese of Buenos Aires begin their priestly formation.

He was carrying out that vital task when Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires on February 8, 2002, at the age of 54. He was consecrated a bishop in April 2002. His career progressed with his appointment as Bishop of Santa Rosa, Argentina, in 2008.

On March 28, 2013, Pope Francis appointed him his successor as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and he was installed a month later. In May of that year, Francis also appointed him Bishop for the Faithful of the Eastern Rites in Argentina — those who belong to the Catholic Eastern rites in Argentina but are without an Ordinary.

He has served as the first vice-president of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, and been a member of the Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education and of the Episcopal Commission for Biblical Catechetical and Pastoral Care.

Pope Francis elevated Mario Aurelio Poli to the rank of Cardinal in February 2014.

Cardinal Poli retired as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and as Bishop for the Faithful of the Eastern Rites, on May 26, 2023, at the age of 75.

One of the most notable aspects of Cardinal Poli’s career was his succession of Pope Francis as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The appointment highlighted the trust and confidence placed in him by the newly elected pontiff.

Cardinal Poli considers the Eucharist to be a fundamental element in the lives of believers. He views the Eucharist as a central element of the Catholic faith, with the power to transform lives, inspire mission, and unite the community of believers. His view of the Eucharist and liturgy appears to be deeply rooted in Catholic tradition, emphasizing their importance both for individual spiritual life and for the collective mission of the Church.

Poli opposed same sex “marriage” in Argentina and in 2013 said that he would have a respectful but distant relationship with the administration of Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — a political stance similar to that of Bergoglio. He also called for increased dialogue between the Church and the state.

His pastoral approach is similar to Francis, but by his own admission he steers clear of politics unless he believes he has a prophetic message he feels called to share. “I am a pastor and not a politician. I am not like Bergoglio in that,” he said in 2014, adding that he has a “different temperament.”

As the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Poli would likely have been significantly involved in the creation of a directive on Amoris Laetitia and its controversial teaching on Communion for divorced and civilly remarried. Pope Francis strongly endorsed the guidelines, stating that they “completely explain the meaning of Chapter VIII of Amoris Laetitia” and that there were “no other interpretations.”

The cardinal has otherwise said little publicly about core moral teachings, the liturgy, or controversies. In 2014, he said he was “bit shy of the press” and therefore reluctant to give interviews.