Cardinal Raffaele Farina, SDB (born September 24, 1933) is an Italian prelate, an archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church.He is the current Pro-Archivist and Pro-Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on June 25, 2007, and formally took office on 1 September.
On October 17, 2007, the Pope announced that he will make Farina a Cardinal. Farina was elevated today to the College of Cardinals in the consistory at St. Peter's Basilica.
Born in Buonalbergo, he made his profession as a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco on September 25, 1954, the day after his 25th birthday. Farina was ordained to the priesthood in 1958.
Before his ordination he studied theology at the Theological Faculty of the Pontifical Salesian Athenaeum of Turin graduating with a licentiate in theology in 1958. He continued his studies at the Faculty of Ecclesiastical History at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome earning a doctorate in ecclesiastical history in 1965. He then served as Professor of history of the ancient church and of methodology at the Theological Faculty of the Pontifical Salesian University from 1968 to 1972, while from 1972 to 1974 he was dean of the same faculty. He served as rector of the university from 1977 to 1983 and again from 1992 to 1997.
He was appointed as Secretary of Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences (1981), Undersecretary of Pontifical Council for Culture (1986), and Rector of the Salesian Pontifical University (1991). Named Prefect of the Vatican Library by Pope John Paul II on May 25, 1997, he was the second-highest official in that Curial office, successively under Cardinals Luigi Poggi and Jean-Louis Tauran.
On November 15, 2006, Farina was appointed Titular Bishop of Opitergium by Pope Benedict XVI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 16 from Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, a fellow Salesian, with James Cardinal Stafford and Cardinal Tauran serving as co-consecrators.
Pope Benedict later named Bishop Farina as Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and Librarian of the Vatican Library on June 25, 2007, replacing Cardinal Tauran, who was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. His titular see was elevated pro hac vice to the level of an archdiocese on the same date as well. He also sits on the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
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Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce