Archbishop Amato Named to Head Saints Congregation

Angelo Amato was born in Molfetta, Italy, in 1938. He was ordained a priest for the Salesians in 1967. He was appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2002.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Angelo Amato to lead the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

Archbishop Amato, 70, was the secretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He succeeds Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, 76, who retired.

The Pope appointed Spanish Jesuit Father Luis Franciso Ladaria Ferrer, of the faculty of the Gregorian University, to fill Archbishop Amato's vacancy. Archbishop-designate Ladaria will continue in his role as secretary of the International Theological Commission.

Angelo Amato was born in Molfetta, Italy, in 1938. He was ordained a priest for the Salesians in 1967. He was appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2002.

Luis Ladaria Ferrer was born in Mallorca, Spain in 1944 and joined the Society of Jesus in 1966.

He was ordained a priest in 1973. Two years later, he became a professor of dogmatic theology in Spain, and in 1984, took that same role at the Gregorian University, where he also served as vice rector.

Father Ladaria Ferrer was named a consultant for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 1995 and since 2004, has been the secretary of the International Theological Commission.