Raffaele Farina SDB

Raffaele Farina was born in Buonalbergo, Benevento, on 24 September 1933. A Salesian, ordained a priest on 1 July 1958, he was twice rector of the Pontifical Salesian University (1977–83, 1992–97), undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture (1986–91), and president of the Vatican Publishing House's editorial commission. On 24 May 1997 — the Holy See biography's date; Wikipedia gives 25 May — he was appointed Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library, leading it for a decade.

Appointed titular Bishop of Opitergium in November 2006 (consecrated 16 December by Cardinal Bertone), he was raised to archbishop ad personam in June 2007 and appointed Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church — the keeper of the Church's memory — serving until June 2012. Benedict XVI created him a cardinal on 24 November 2007, with the deaconry of San Giovanni della Pigna. In June 2013 Francis named him president of the five-member pontifical commission investigating the Institute for the Works of Religion. He holds Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class (2019), for his scholarly ties with the country. His motto is Dominus spes nostra — “the Lord is our hope.”