Mario Zenari

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.

His Eminence Mario Zenari
Cardinal Apostolic Nuncio to Syria
Zenari in 2022.
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Appointed	30 December 2008
Predecessor	Giovanni Battista Morandini
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri
Previous post(s)	Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka (2004–08) Apostolic Nuncio to Côte d'Ivoire, Niger and Burkina Faso (1999–2004) 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) Titular Archbishop of Iulium Carnicum (1999–2016)
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
Born	Mario Zenari (1946-01-05) 5 January 1946 (age 79) Rosegaferro, Verona, Italy
Motto	Levate Oculos Vestros (Lift up your eyes)
Coat of arms

Ordination history of Mario Zenari
History Priestly ordination Date 5 July 1970 Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Angelo Sodano Co-consecrators Flavio Roberto Carraro, OFM Cap. Marcello Zago, OMI Date 25 September 1999 Cardinalate Elevated by Pope Francis Date 19 November 2016

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

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.^[1]

Diplomatic career

On 7 February 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed him to several diplomatic positions as papal representative to non-governmental organizations in Vienna.^[2] And on 15 June he was given the title monsignor as a Prelate of Honour of His Holiness.^[3]

He was named Titular Archbishop of Iulium Carnicum and apostolic nuncio to Burkina Faso, Niger, and Côte d'Ivoire on 12 July 1999.^[4] He received his episcopal consecration on 25 September 1999 from Cardinal Angelo Sodano.^[5]

On 10 May 2004, he was named the nuncio to Sri Lanka.^[6] On 30 December 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him nuncio to Syria^[7] 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".^[8] He was made a Cardinal Deacon on that day and assigned to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri.^[9] Francis made him a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on 23 December 2017.^[10]

See also

• Cardinals created by Francis
• List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See