Jaime Spengler

Jaime Spengler, OFM (born 6 September 1960), is a Brazilian cardinal of the Catholic Church who has been the Archbishop of Porto Alegre since 2013. He has also served as president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil and the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) since 2023. He is a member of the Order of Friars Minor. He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis on 7 December 2024.

Biography Jaime Spengler was born on 6 September 1960, in the city of Gaspar, in the state of Santa Catarina, the eldest of his parents' four children. He later joined the Order of Friars Minor and was ordained a Catholic priest on 17 November 1990.

On 10 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI named him titular bishop of Patara and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre.

On 15 August 2012, Archbishop Dadeus Grings appointed him Attorney and Treasurer of the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre. Pope Francis appointed him archbishop of Porto Alegre on 18 September 2013. On 29 March 2014, Pope Francis named him a member of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. On 1 June 2022, Pope Francis named him a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Episcopal Conference of Brazil On 25 June 2011, he became a member of the Episcopal Pastoral Commission for Ordained Ministries and Consecrated Life of the Episcopal Conference of Brazil (CNBB).

On 23 April 2015, he was elected President of the CNBB South Regional 3 for the 2015–2019 term. On 24 April 2023, during the 60th General Assembly of the CNBB, he was elected president for the 2023–2027 term.

Cardinal On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make Spengler a cardinal on 8 December, a date that was later changed to 7 December.

On 7 December 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal, assigning him as a member of the order of cardinal priests the title of San Gregorio Magno alla Magliana Nuova.

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