Cardinal Silvano Maria Tomasi is a migrant specialist and former Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva who was brought out of retirement to steer important and ultimately successful reform of the Order of Malta.

Born on October 12, 1940, in Casoni di Mussolente, Italy, Tomasi was ordained as a priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles (Scalabrinians) on May 31, 1965. He pursued higher education in the United States, earning a doctorate in sociology from Fordham University in New York.

Early in his career, Tomasi served as an assistant professor of sociology at the City University of New York and the New School for Social Research from 1970 to 1974. He co-founded the Center for Migration Studies in New York and established the International Migration Review, showcasing his commitment to migration issues. From 1983 to 1987, he directed the Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Tomasi’s diplomatic career began on June 27, 1989, when Pope John Paul II appointed him Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. He was consecrated bishop on August 17, 1996, and served as Apostolic Nuncio to Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.

In 2003, he was appointed Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, a position he held until 2016.

Throughout his tenure, Tomasi addressed various global issues, including child protection, labor rights, and autonomous weapons systems.

In comments made in 2009, Tomasi noted that eighty to ninety percent of abuse by priests is committed by a homosexual minority who are “sexually engaged with adolescent boys between the ages of eleven and seventeen.” He also remarked that as the Catholic Church has been “busy cleaning its own house, it would be good if other institutions and authorities, where the major part of abuses are reported, could do the same and inform the media about it.”

In 2015, he spoke out against jihadist violence, describing it as “genocide.”

Pope Francis elevated Tomasi to the rank of cardinal on November 28, 2020, assigning him the title of Cardinal-Deacon of San Nicola in Carcere.

On November 1, 2020, Francis appointed him Special Delegate to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. During his tenure, he oversaw the reform process of the Order’s constitutional charter and code while maintaining its sovereign status.

He was involved in proposing changes to create a more united and fraternal Order after conflict and tensions had emerged in recent years. Tomasi was central to all discussions regarding the Order’s reform, balancing its Catholic identity with its unique sovereign status in international law and its global diplomatic and humanitarian work.

The cardinal suffers from early stages of Parkinson’s disease. He speaks multiple languages.