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	(1946-01-05) 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)
Coat of arms

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

Mario Zenari (born 5 January 1946) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since 2016. He has served his entire ecclesiastical career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, holding senior positions beginning in 1999. He has been Apostolic Nuncio to Syria since 30 December 2008. He was nuncio to Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2008.

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] Francis made him a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on 23 December 2017.^[3]

References

External links

• "Zenari Card. Mario". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
• "Msgr. Zenari, Cardinal in Damascus: Amid war and violence, Pope points to peace through diplomacy". Asia News. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
• Catholic Hierarchy