Salvatore De Giorgi

Salvatore De Giorgi (born 6 September 1930) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Palermo from 1996 until his retirement in 2006. He was made a cardinal in 1998.

He was first made a bishop in 1973 and led other dioceses in his native Apulia from 1978 to 1990.

Life De Giorgi was born 6 September 1930 in Vernole, in Apulia (Southern Italy). He was ordained a priest in 1953 and was secretary to Bishop Francesco Minerva of Lecce from 1953 to 1958. He also served as diocesan chaplain for the Teachers' Movement of Catholic Action. In 1958 he became parish priest of Our Lady of Grace in Santa Rosa. On 21 November 1973, he was named titular bishop of Tulana and an auxiliary bishop of Oria. He received his episcopal consecration on 27 December. Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of that see on 17 March 1978. His pastoral ministry was characterized by the accentuation of the spiritual, commitment to the formation of the clergy, the promotion of the laity. Attentive to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, he was also particularly sensitive to social problems, especially those concerning the family, youth and the protection of life, and has directed special attention to the situation of the marginalized.

On 4 April 1981, he was made archbishop of Foggia. From 1987 to 1990, he served as Archbishop of Taranto. At the same time, he was also elected President of the Sicilian Episcopal Conference. He was often outspoken in his condemnation of organized crime and the mafia. He has visited emigrants from Palermo in the Italian communities in Melbourne, Australia, Chicago and Milwaukee in the United States of America, in Toronto, Canada and London in England. On 25 February he was made a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family. On 18 February 1999, he was named a member of the Congregation for the Clergy. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. He retired as Archbishop of Palermo on 19 December 2006 and was succeeded by Archbishop Paolo Romeo, who had been apostolic nuncio to Italy and San Marino.

De Giorgi is a writer and journalist. He has authored several religious publications, including Un servizio di amore per una Chiesa di frontiera (2015).

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to a commission to investigate leaks of confidential documents. It first met on 24 April 2012. In May 2013 Pope Francis designated De Giorgi his representative to officiate at the beatification of Father Pino Puglisi, killed by the mafia in 1993. As generally the Pope chooses either the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints or the Cardinal Secretary of State, this was seen as unprecedented.