Holy Father Names Cardinal Hummes Prefect of the Congregation of Clergy

The Holy Father has named Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a Franciscan, to become Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, replacing the retiring Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos. In this position, he will head the Vatican Office in charge of priests around the world.

Cardinal Claudio Hummes, was born on August 8, 1934, in the town of Montenegro, outside Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. The son of German immigrants, he was raised on a farm with 13 siblings.

He was ordained as a Franciscan at the age of 24 on August 3, 1958 and holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Antonianum, Rome, and a specialization in ecumenism from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in Geneva, Switzerland. He taught philosophy at the Franciscan seminary in Garibaldi, at the major seminary of Viamão and at the Pontifical Catholic University of Porto Alegre.

He currently now heads the Sao Paulo archdiocese-- reported to be the largest diocese in the world, in terms of Catholic population.

Sources: Vatican, the Holy See, Catholic World News, Wikipedia
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