Giuseppe Versaldi (born 30 July 1943) is an Italian prelate 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 was the prefect of the

Congregation for Catholic Education The Congregation for Catholic Education (Institutes of Study) () was the pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either ecclesial or non-ecclesiastical depende ...

from 2015 until that body was merged into the new

Dicastery for Culture and Education The Dicastery for Culture and Education is an administrative unit of the Roman Curia. It began operations on 5 June 2022 as established by the apostolic constitution ''Praedicate evangelium'' promulgated on 19 March 2022. It was formed through th ...

in 2022. He served as president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 2011 to 2015. Before that he was Bishop of Alessandria.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

elevated him to the rank of cardinal on 18 February 2012.

Biography

Versaldi was born in 1943 in

Villarboit Villarboit is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2 ...

in the Province of Vercelli, Region of Piedmont, and was ordained a priest on 29 June 1967. In 1972 he was sent to Rome to study

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and then

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

, where he earned a degree in psychology and a doctorate in

. Versaldi returned to Vercelli in 1976, where he was given the task of starting the diocesan Family Counseling centre. At the same time he attended courses at the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic m ...

. He received his law degree in 1980. In 1977 he was made pastor of the Parish of Larizza. Beginning in 1980 he taught canon law and psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1985 he was appointed by the Holy See as tribunal clerk of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, as a voting member in 1990, and a member of the Supreme Council of the Apostolic Signatura in 2007. On 25 March 1994 he was appointed

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of Vercelli by Archbishop

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

. Pope Benedict XVI named him Bishop of Alessandria on 4 April 2007. He was consecrated on 26 May 2007 by Enrico Masseroni, Archbishop of Vercelli, and Bishops Fernando Charrier and Natalino Pescarolo as co-consecrators. He was installed on 10 June 2007. After four years as Bishop of Alessandria, on 21 September 2011,

named Versaldi President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See and gave him the rank of archbishop. On 18 February 2012 he was created

Cardinal-Deacon 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 ...

Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio Sacro Cuore di Gesù al Castro Pretorio () is a Catholic parish and titular church in Rome, Italy, the mother church of the Salesian Order. History The church was originally planned by Pope Pius IX, the land being bought by him along the via di ...

by Benedict XVI. On 21 April 2012, Versaldi was appointed a member of the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal on any ecclesiastical matter). In addition, ...

, the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

and 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 ...

. Versaldi was one of the 117 cardinal electors who took part in the 2013 conclave. On 31 March 2015 Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the

, replacing Cardinal

Zenon Grocholewski Zenon Grocholewski (11 October 1939 – 17 July 2020) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church, who was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He joined the Roman Curia in 1972 and served from 1999 until 2015 as Prefect of the Congregation ...

. On 4 October 2017 he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

. On 14 April 2018 he was named a member of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

. On 13 February 2019, Versaldi signed an agreement with the head of the Ministry of Education, University and Research

Marco Bussetti Marco Bussetti (born 28 May 1962) is an Italian teacher and public manager, who served in the government of Italy as Minister of Education, University and Research between 1 June 2018 and 5 September 2019. Biography Bussetti was born in Gallara ...

for the application of the

Lisbon Recognition Convention The Lisbon Recognition Convention, officially the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, is an international convention of the Council of Europe elaborated together with the UNESCO. This ...

for the mutual recognition of the academic qualifications released by the Italian public universities and by the Holy See's pontifical institutes. The agreement widened the variety of academic titles recognized for the teaching of Roman Catholic religion in the Italian public primary and secondary schools. On 4 March 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest. His service as Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education ended with the reorganization of the Curia that took effect on 5 June 2022.

References

;Sources * Martin Bräuer, ''Handbuch der Kardinäle: 1846-2012'' (Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2014).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Versaldi, Giuseppe Bishops in Piedmont Living people 1943 births Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI 21st-century Italian cardinals Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Members of the Apostolic Signatura Members of the Congregation for Bishops Members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI