Mario Zenari

His Eminence Mario Zenari
Cardinal, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Appointed	30 December 2008
Predecessor	Giovanni Battista Morandini
Other posts	Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri
Orders
Ordination	5 July 1970 by Giuseppe Carraro
Consecration	25 September 1999 by Angelo Sodano
Created Cardinal	19 November 2016 by Pope Francis
Rank	Cardinal Deacon
Personal details
Birth name	Mario Zenari
Born	5 January 1946 Villafranca di Verona, Verona, Italy
Previous post	Permanent Observer to the Office of the U.N. and Specialized Institutions in Vienna (1994-99) Permanent Observer to the U.N. Industrial Development Organization (1994-99) Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (1994-99) Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (1994-99) Apostolic Nuncio to Cote d'Ivoire (1999-2004) Apostolic Nuncio to Niger (1999-2004) Apostolic Nuncio to Burkina Faso (1999-2004) Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka (2004-08) Titular Archbishop of Iulium Carnicum (1999-2016)
Motto	"Levate Oculos Vestros" (Lift up your eyes)

Ordination history of Mario Zenari
Priestly ordination
Date of ordination	5 July 1970
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecrator	Angelo Sodano
Co-consecrators	Flavio Roberto Carraro, OFM Cap. Marcello Zago, OMI
Date of consecration	25 September 1999
Cardinalate
Elevated by	Pope Francis
Date of elevation	19 November 2016

Styles of Mario Zenari
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal

Mario Zenari (born 5 January 1946) is an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and the current Apostolic Nuncio to Syria. Zenari was ordained a priest in 1970 and has served his entire ecclesiastical career in various diplomatic positions. Since 1999 he has served as the nuncio to three African nations and in 2004 was appointed nuncio to Sri Lanka.

Zenari has been in Syria during the Syrian Civil War. On 9 October 2016, Pope Francis announced that he would create Zenari a cardinal on 19 November 2016 to show his support and devotion for "martyred" Syria.

Life

Mario Zenari was born in 1946 in Verona. He received his ordination to the priesthood on 5 July 1970 in Verona from the Venerable Giuseppe Carraro while later being appointed to several diplomatic positions to non-governmental organizations by Pope John Paul II in 1994. He was later named as the Titular Archbishop of Iulium Carnicum on 12 July 1999, while simultaneously being named as the apostolic nuncio to two African nations (Niger and Cote d'Ivoire); he was later named a week later on 24 July as the nuncio to Burkina Faso.

He received his episcopal consecration on 25 September 1999 from Cardinal Angelo Sodano and served as the nuncio to those three nations until 10 May 2004 when he was removed from those positions in favor of being named as the nuncio to Sri Lanka. Zenari remained there until 30 December 2008 when Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the nuncio to Syria where he was stationed during the onslaught of the Syrian Civil War that broke out in 2011.

Pope Francis on 9 October 2016 announced that he would create Archbishop Zenari a cardinal on 19 November 2016 in the papal consistory, citing his work for the "beloved and martyred Syria".^[1] He was made a Cardinal Deacon on that day and assigned to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri.^[2]

References

1. "Annuncio di Concistoro il 19 novembre per la creazione di nuovi Cardianali". Holy See. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
2. "Titular churches and diaconates of the new cardinals, 19.11.2016" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.

External links

• Catholic Hierarchy