Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo

Styles of Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Santa Maria in Portico

Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (born 27 August 1925) is an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic church. He was Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls from 2005 to 2009.

Family

Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo was born in Turin, Italy of a noble family. He is related to Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari and chairman of FIAT.

His father was among the victims of the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine, carried out on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Rome in 1944. He and his sister Adriana have, on several occasions, been conspicuous for their forgiveness of the perpetrators, notably Erich Priebke.

Studies and priesthood

Coat of Arms of Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo

He studied in Turin and Rome and fought in World War II. After the war, he pursued higher studies in architecture and was a professional and academic. He later discerned his vocation to the priesthood and pursued studies in theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He also studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and obtained a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University.

Service of the Holy See

In 1976 he was appointed Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in the Roman Curia. On 5 April 1977 he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Pandosia and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Papua New Guinea and Apostolic Delegate to the Solomon Islands. On 25 October 1980 he was transferred as Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua and Honduras, and on 1 April 1986 to Uruguay.

On 28 April 1990 he became Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine and, one month later, also Pro-Nuncio to Cyprus. During this appointment, he secured the agreement in 1993 of the government of Israel to the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel, which paved the way for setting up full diplomatic relations, so that he became the first Nuncio to Israel. His final diplomatic posting was as Nuncio to Italy and San Marino, to which he was appointed on 17 April 2001.

In 2005 he designed the coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI and shortly afterwards, on 31 May 2005, was named Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. As Archpriest, he carried out, with the assistance of the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint Paul, important architectural work and restoration for the benefit of the local faithful and the pilgrims who come to the Basilica from various parts of the world.

Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal in the consistory of 24 March 2006, as Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Portico. By then he was over eighty years of age, and therefore ineligible to vote in a conclave.

On 3 July 2009 he was replaced as Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls by Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, formerly secretary of the Congregation for Bishops.

External links

• Catholic Hierarchy - Andrea Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo
• Catholic Pages

Catholic Church titles
First	Apostolic Nuncio to Israel 19 January 1994  – 7 March 1998	Succeeded by Pietro Sambi
Preceded by Francesco Colasuonno	Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and San Marino 7 March 1998–17 April 2001	Succeeded by Paolo Romeo
First	Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls 31 May 2005 – 3 July 2009	Succeeded by Francesco Monterisi