Zenon Grocholewski (11 October 1939 – 17 July 2020) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church, who was elevated to the rank of

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 ...

in 2001. He joined the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

in 1972 and served from 1999 until 2015 as 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 ...

and Grand Chancellor of 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 ...

Biography

Zenon Grocholewski was born in Bródki to Stanisław and Józefa (née Stawińska) Grocholewski. After studying at the archdiocesan

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, Grocholewski was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 27 May 1963 by Archbishop Antoni Baraniak. He joined the staff of the Apostolic Signatura in 1972. On 21 December 1982 he was appointed

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 Acropolis, and he received his episcopal consecration on the following 6 January from

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 ...

, with Archbishops

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 Duraisamy Lourdusamy serving as co-consecrators. John Paul promoted Grocholewski to the rank of

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

on 16 December 1991. On 15 November 1999, John Paul appointed him Prefect of the

. That position made him ''ex officio'' Grand Chancellor of the

. Grocholewski 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 San Nicola in Carcere by John Paul II in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of 21 January 2001. Grocholewski automatically lost his curial position on 2 April 2005 upon the death of Pope John Paul. He was confirmed in office by

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 ...

on 21 April. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected

.Fox News, Fast Facts: List of Cardinal Electors, 18 April 2005
/ref> On 21 February 2011, he opted for the order of Cardinal Priest, with his former diaconal church elevated to the level of cardinalitial title. He participated in the

2013 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 12 and 13 March 2013 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February 2013. Of the 117 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. On th ...

that elected Pope Francis. Grocholewski was a member of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

, 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 ...

, the

Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, formerly named Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. It is distinct from the highest tribunal or court in the Church, which is the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Sign ...

, and the Special Council for Oceania of the Synod of Bishops. Cardinal Grocholewski was also the papal envoy to the ceremonies marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, the oldest university in Asia. On 31 March 2015, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi to succeed Grocholewski as Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Zenon Grocholewski died on 17 July 2020 at the age of 80.

Academic career

Grocholewski taught at the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1975–1999) and at the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome (1980–1984). He also gave lectures on Administrative Justice at the Studio Rotale of the Roman Rota (1986–1998).Cf. Official Biography of Cardinal Grocholewski used during the 400th year foundation of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila. The list of his publications ran to 550 entries. He gave talks at conferences and conventions in various countries. He was connected with a number of Canon Law associations, and with the editorial boards of some academic reviews and journals.

Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education

In March 2011 at a press conference to present the newly published Decree on the Reform of Ecclesiastical Studies of Philosophy, Cardinal Grocholewski explained how the normative documents concerning ecclesiastical studies comprehended John Paul II's 1979 Apostolic Constitution "Sapientia christiana" and its norms of application, issued in the same year by the Congregation for Catholic Education. "Nonetheless", he said, "'Ecclesia semper est reformanda' in order to respond to the new demands of ecclesial life in changing historical-cultural circumstances and this also (perhaps especially) involves the academic world". The reasons for the reform, the cardinal explained, are "on the one hand, the shortcomings in philosophical formation at many ecclesiastical institutions, where precise points of reference are lacking especially as regards the subjects to be taught and the quality of teachers.... On the other hand there is the conviction – expressed in John Paul II's 1998 Encyclical ''Fides et ratio'' of the importance of the metaphysical component of philosophy, ... and the awareness that philosophy is indispensable for theological formation". For this reason today's decree of the congregation aims to re-evaluate philosophy, above all in the light of that Encyclical, ... restoring the 'original vocation' of philosophy; i.e., the search for truth and its sapiental and metaphysical dimension".

Honours, awards and decorations

Cardinal Grocholewski received more than 20 honorary Doctorates, the Grand Medal of San Gorazdo of the Ministry of Education of Slovakia (2000), the Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit (Chile) The Order of Merit () is a Chilean order of merit and was created in 1929. Succeeding the Medal of the Merit, which was created during the term of the President Germán Riesco through the Minister of War decree No. 1350 on 4 September 1906. This ...

(2003), the Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2005), the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2009), and Commander of ''l’Ordre des Palmes académiques'' of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of France (2009). * CHL Order of Merit of Chile - Grand Cross BAR

CHL Order of Merit of Chile - Grand Cross BAR

Order of Merit (Chile), Grand Cross (2003) * GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 6 GrVK Stern Band

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Sash (2005) * POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski ZG BAR

Order of ''Polonia Restituta'', Commander's Cross with Star (2009) * Palmes academiques Commandeur ribbon

''Ordre des Palmes Académiques'' (France), ''Commandeur'' (2009)

References

External links

*
2009 Catholic Almanac
\ *Note: The titular see of Agropoli was created in 1968 and

Pope 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 ...

assigned the title to John Paul Elford, who declined the title and was never consecrated a bishop. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grocholewski, Zenon 1939 births 2020 deaths Polish Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century Polish cardinals Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education Members of the Apostolic Signatura Prefects of the Apostolic Signatura Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Members of the Congregation for Bishops Polish Roman Catholic titular archbishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II