Angelo Comastri

Angelo Comastri was born in Sorano, Tuscany, on 17 September 1943, and raised by a deeply religious mother he called his true educator. Ordained a priest on 11 March 1967, he worked at Rome's Congregation for Bishops while serving as spiritual director of the Roman Minor Seminary and assistant chaplain of the Regina Caeli prison — years he recounted in his book “I was in prison!” After directing the Pitigliano seminary, he was parish priest of Porto Santo Stefano (1979–90), where Mother Teresa of Calcutta visited and became a close friend.

Appointed Bishop of Massa Marittima-Piombino in 1990, a sudden heart ailment forced his resignation in 1994. Recovered, he served as Archbishop and papal delegate at the Marian shrine of Loreto (1996–2005), preached the Curia's Lenten exercises for John Paul II in 2003, and wrote the Colosseum Good Friday Stations texts for Benedict XVI in 2006. On 5 February 2005 he became Vicar General for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St Peter; on 31 October 2006, Archpriest of St Peter's Basilica — the basilica's guardian until his retirement on 20 February 2021. Benedict XVI created him a cardinal on 24 November 2007, with the title of San Salvatore in Lauro; he voted in the 2013 conclave. His motto is Deus Charitas Est. He is a prolific author of works on spirituality, translated into the major languages.