Karl-Josef Rauber (11 April 1934 – 26 March 2023) was a German 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 served as an

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

from 1982 until his retirement in 2009. He was created a

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 ...

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 ...

in 2015.

Biography

After graduating from St.-Michaels-Gymnasium of

Metten Abbey Metten Abbey, or St. Michael's Abbey at Metten (in German Abtei Metten or Kloster Metten) is a house of the Benedictine Order in Metten near Deggendorf, situated between the fringes of the Bavarian Forest and the valley of the Danube, in Bavaria ...

in 1950, Rauber studied Catholic theology and philosophy at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...

. On 28 February 1959, he was ordained in

Mainz Cathedral Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral ( or, officially, ') is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of th ...

by Bishop Albert Stohr. He was a chaplain in Nidda and in 1962 earned a doctoral degree in canon law 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 ...

in Rome. At the same time, he attended the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (, ) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Despite its name, the P ...

. At the State Secretariat beginning in 1966, Rauber was one of four secretaries of the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop

Giovanni Benelli Giovanni Benelli (12 May 1921 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Florence from 1977 until his death. He previously served as Deputy Secretary of State for the Holy See from 1967 until he was appo ...

. He was primarily responsible for the German-speaking territories.

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

awarded him on 22 December 1976 the title of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness. In 1977 he was Nuntiaturrat in Belgium and Luxembourg and 1981 in Greece. On 18 December 1982, Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him Titular Archbishop of Iubaltiana and pro-nuncio to Uganda. Pope John Paul II also consecrated him as bishop on 6 January 1983. Co-consecrators were the ex officio in the

Vatican Secretariat of State The Secretariat of State (Latin: ''Secretaria Status''; Italian: ''Segreteria di Stato'') is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of Stat ...

Eduardo Martínez Somalo Eduardo Martínez Somalo (; 31 March 1927 – 10 August 2021) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who spent most of his career in the Roman Curia, first in the Secretariat of State from 1956 to 1975 and from 1979 to 1988, and then l ...

and the Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples,

Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy (5 February 1924 – 2 June 2014) was an Indian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. His ...

. His motto was "Caritas Christi urget nos" (The love of Christ drives us, also sometimes translated as The love of Christ impels us). On 22 January 1990, Pope John Paul II appointed Rauber as President of the

, a post he held until 16 March 1993. In 1991, he was assigned to investigate the problems encountered in the

Diocese of Chur The Diocese of Chur () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Switzerland. It extends over the Swiss Cantons of Graubünden (Grisons), Schwyz, Glarus, Zurich, Nidwalden, Obwalden, and Uri. The modern ...

by Bishop Wolfgang Haas. He continued to have responsibility for that troubled diocese when he returned to the diplomatic service of the Holy See when he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Switzerland on 16 March 1993 and to Liechtenstein on 17 April 1993. Though Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, later

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 ...

, criticized him for failing to support Haas against his critics, Rauber's solution, moving Haas to Liechtenstein, proved effective and long-lasting. His next appointment was on 25 April 1997 as Apostolic Nuncio to Hungary and Moldova. On 22 February 2003, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium and Luxembourg. When the Church leadership in Rome passed over his recommendation of three candidates for the position of Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Pope Benedict XVI named

André-Joseph Léonard André-Joseph Léonard (; born 6 May 1940) is a Belgian Catholic retired prelate who served as the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Primate of Belgium from 2010 to 2015. He previously served as Bishop of Namur from 1991 until 2010 under th ...

to the position instead, Rauber objected publicly and described Léonard as wholly unsuited for the appointment. Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation for reasons of age in 2009. On 4 January 2015,

announced that he would make him a

on 14 February. At that ceremony, 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 ...

of the titular church of Sant'Antonio di Padova a Circonvallazione Appia. His appointment was called "surprising", and Bayerischer Rundfunk reported "much speculation that perhaps Francis deliberately wanted to honor a man who did not always have an easy time with the Roman system". Rauber died in Rottenburg near

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

, on 26 March 2023, at the age of 88. He had lived there in retirement with the Schoenstatt sisters. He had been in poor health for several years and was weakened by the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

virus in 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rauber, Karl-Josef 1934 births 2023 deaths 21st-century German cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Francis Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Presidents of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy Apostolic nuncios to Luxembourg Apostolic nuncios to Belgium Apostolic nuncios to Hungary Apostolic nuncios to Moldova Apostolic nuncios to Switzerland Apostolic nuncios to Liechtenstein Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic nuncios to Uganda Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Clergy from Nuremberg Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni German Roman Catholic titular archbishops

Biography

See also

References

External links