Jaime Spengler, OFM (born 6 September 1960), is a Brazilian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has been the Archbishop of Porto Alegre since 2013. He has also served as president of the

National Conference of Bishops of Brazil The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil'', CNBB) is a group of the Catholic Bishops of Brazil formed under the Code of Canon Law. All diocesan bishops in Brazil belong to CNBB along ...

and the

Latin American Episcopal Council The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (; ), better known as CELAM, is a Episcopal Conference#Similar bodies, council of the Catholic Church, Catholic bishops in Latin America, created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ...

(CELAM) since 2023. He is a member of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

. He was created a cardinal by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 7 December 2024.

Biography

Jaime Spengler was born on 6 September 1960, in the city of Gaspar, in the state of Santa Catarina. He is the first child among the four children of his parents. He later joined the

and was ordained a Catholic priest. On 10 November 2010, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Patara and auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre. On 15 August 2012, Archbishop Dadeus Grings appointed him as Attorney and Treasurer of the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre.

appointed him archbishop of the Porto Alegre on 18 September 2013. On 29 March 2014, Pope Francis named him a member of the

Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DICLSAL and formerly CICLSAL; ), is the dicastery of the Roman Cu ...

. On 1 June 2022, Pope Francis named him a member of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

Episcopal Conference of Brazil

On 25 June 2011, he became a member of the Episcopal Pastoral Commission for Ordained Ministries and Consecrated Life of the Episcopal Conference of Brazil (CNBB). On 23 April 2015, he was elected President of the CNBB South Regional 3 for the 2015–2019 term. On 24 April 2023, during the 60th General Assembly of the CNBB, he was elected president of the entity for the 2023–2027 term.

Cardinal

On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make Spengler a cardinal on 8 December, a date that was later changed to 7 December. On 7 December 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal, assigning him as a member of the order of cardinal priests the title of San Gregorio Magno alla Magliana Nuova. He participated as a

cardinal elector A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

in the

2025 papal conclave A conclave was held on 7 and 8 May 2025 to elect a new pope to succeed Pope Francis, Francis, who had died on 21 April 2025. Of the 135 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. Cardinal Piet ...

that elected

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

References

;Additional sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spengler, Jaime Living people 1960 births Catholic archbishops in South America Brazilian Roman Catholic archbishops People from Santa Catarina (state) Brazilian Friars Minor Franciscan bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Cardinals created by Pope Francis Brazilian cardinals

Biography

Episcopal Conference of Brazil

Cardinal

See also

References