Fernando Chomali

Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib (born 10 March 1957) is a Chilean Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile since 2023. He was previously Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago de Chile from 2006 to 2011 and Archbishop of Concepción from 2011 to 2023. He was made a cardinal in 2024.

Biography Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib was born on 10 March 1957 in Santiago de Chile, one of five children born to Juan Chomali Celse and Vitalia Garib Aguad; He studied at the Colegio de Alianza Francesa and the National Institute of Santiago. He earned a degree in civil engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 1981 His membership was most recently renewed in 2017.

On 6 April 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him titular bishop of Noba and auxiliary bishop of Santiago de Chile. He received his episcopal consecration on 3 June

He served from March 2014 to March 2015 as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Osorno. In the final days of that assignment, he met with Pope Francis and tried without success to impress upon him the impact his appointment of Juan Barros as Osorno's new bishop was having. Chomali had long been friends with Juan Carlos Cruz, who was charging Barros with failure to protect him from sexual abuse.

On 10 September 2018, in a pastoral letter on the sexual abuse crisis, he called for the Church to cooperate fully with civil authorities: "We must obey the law because we are not above the norms that govern the country." He regretted that Church had lost its reputation as "a voice for the voiceless" and had become "for a growing percentage of the population ... a cause of scandal, of profound questioning, of much distrust and little credibility". He decried the impact of clericalism and proposed separating the offices that handle complaints of abuse from other diocesan offices and new rules to create transparency for seminaries and church judicial proceedings.

He became vice president of the Episcopal Conference of Chile on 28 July 2021.

Archbishop of Santiago On 25 October 2023, Pope Francis named him Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago. He was installed there on 16 December.

As archbishop, in December 2024, he re-authorised the celebration of the Tridentine Mass in the archdiocese, after four years of having been prohibited by his predecessor.

Cardinalate On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make Chomali a cardinal on 8 December, a date that was later changed to 7 December. Shortly after the announcement, he reacted on his X account: "I'm very excited. I hope to be a contribution to the Chilean Church.

On 7 December 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal, assigning him as Cardinal-Priest of San Mauro Abate.

He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.

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