Mario Zenari

His Eminence Mario Zenari
Cardinal, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria
File:Cardinal Mario Zenari in 2016.jpg Zenari in late 2016.
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 Rosegaferro, 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	Mario Zenari's coat of arms

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
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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 Rosegaferro. He received his ordination to the priesthood on 5 July 1970 in Verona from Bishop Giuseppe Carraro.

To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1976.

On 7 February 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed him to several diplomatic positions as papal representative to non-governmental organizations in Vienna. And on 15 June he was given the title monsignor as a Prelate of Honour of His Holiness.

He was named Titular Archbishop of Iulium Carnicum and apostolic nuncio to Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d'Ivoire on 12 July 1999. He received his episcopal consecration on 25 September 1999 from Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

On 10 May 2004, he was named the nuncio to Sri Lanka. On 30 December 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him nuncio to Syria where he was stationed during the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011.

Pope Francis on 9 October 2016 announced that he would make Zenari a cardinal in a papal consistory scheduled for 19 November 2016, citing his work for the "beloved and martyred Syria". He was made a Cardinal Deacon on that day and assigned to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri. Francis made him a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on 23 December 2017.

External links

• Catholic Hierarchy

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Alfred Kipkoech Arap Rotich	Titular Archbishop of Iulium Carnicum 1999–2016	Succeeded by Pedro Sergio de Jesús Mena Díaz
Preceded by Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy	Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri 2016-present	Incumbent
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Luigi Ventura	Apostolic Nuncio to the Ivory Coast, Niger and Burkina Faso 1999–2004	Succeeded by Mario Roberto Cassari
Preceded by Thomas Yeh Sheng-nan	Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka 2004–2008	Succeeded by Joseph Spiteri
Preceded by Giovanni Battista Morandini	Apostolic Nuncio to Syria 2008–present	Incumbent