Giovanni Battista Re is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 2000 to 2010. As the senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the March 2013 papal conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor. Pope Francis approved his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals on 18 January 2020.
Zenon Grocholewski was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church, who was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He joined the Roman Curia in 1972 and served from 1999 until 2015 as Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Josip Bozanić is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Zagreb from 1997 to 2023. He was previously Bishop of Krk from 1989 to 1997. He was made a cardinal in 2003.
Agostino Cacciavillan was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, and a cardinal since 2001. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1959 to 1998; he was given the titles of archbishop and nuncio in 1998 and served as Pro-Nuncio to Kenya, India, Nepal, and the United States between 1976 and 1998. He then worked in the Roman Curia from 1998 to 2002 as President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.
Salvatore De Giorgi is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Palermo from 1996 until his retirement in 2006. He was made a cardinal in 1998. He was first made a bishop in 1973 and led other dioceses in his native Apulia from 1978 to 1990.
Telesphore Placidus Toppo was an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church and a member of the aboriginal tribal community who was archbishop of the Archdiocese of Ranchi from 1985 to 2018, after serving as coadjutor there for a year. He was bishop of Dumka from 1978 to 1984. He was made a cardinal in 2003, the first from India's tribal population.
The Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of the Holy See. The Secretariat is divided into three sections: the Section for General Affairs, the Section for Relations with States, and, since 2017, the Section for Diplomatic Staff.
Gabriel Montalvo Higuera was a Colombian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See for fifty years, with the title of archbishop and the rank of nuncio from 1974. His assignments included terms as nuncio in Central America, northern Africa, Yugoslavia and the United States.
Leonardo Sandri is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since November 2007 and vice dean of the College of Cardinals since January 2020. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches from 2007 to 2022. He served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1974 to 1991 in several overseas assignments, including as permanent observer of the Holy See before the Organization of American States from 1989 to 1991, and in Rome as Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State from 1999 to 2007.
Agostino Vallini is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2006. From 2008 to 2017 he served as Vicar General of Rome. He is also the Archpriest emeritus of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
Paolo Romeo is an Italian cardinal and archbishop emeritus of Palermo. He was appointed to the see of Palermo by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2006.
Gustavo Testa was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was made a cardinal in 1959. He spent his career in the Roman Curia. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1920 and held several appointments as papal nuncio from 1934 to 1959. He headed the Congregation for the Oriental Churches from 1962 to 1968.
Francesco Marco Nicola Monterisi is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church, who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1964 to 1998 and then held senior positions in the Roman Curia until he retired in 2014.
Valerio Valeri was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious in the Roman Curia from 1953 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.
Francesco Roberti was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1969, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. He was also known for his work in moral theology.
Giuseppe Bertello is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012, who was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from October 2011 to October 2021. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1971 to 2011; became an archbishop in 1987; held appointments as Nuncio to several countries, including Rwanda, Mexico, and Italy; and was the Holy See's representative to a number of international organizations.
Manuel Monteiro de Castro is a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1967 to 2009, with the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985. His assignments as nuncio included the Caribbean, South Africa, Central America, and Spain. He ended his career in senior positions in the Roman Curia from 2009 to 2013. He was made a cardinal in 2012.
Paolo Sardi was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the Roman Curia. He was patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2009 to 2014.
Domenico Calcagno is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a bishop since 2002 and a cardinal since 2012. From 7 July 2011 to 26 June 2018 he was President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, where he had served as secretary since 2007.
Santos Abril y Castelló is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church. After a career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, he held a number of positions in the Roman Curia and from 2011 to 2016 was Archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
