Pope Francis has told Ángel Fernández Artime, S.D.B., 62, the Spanish-born rector major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, that he can remain head of that religious congregation until July 31, 2024, even though he will be created a cardinal on Sept. 30 of this year.
The cardinal-elect made this known in a letter, written in Spanish, to the Salesian congregation on July 12. He recalled that on July 9 Pope Francis announced that he would hold a consistory on Sept. 30 to create 21 new cardinals, 18 of them who will be eligible to be papal electors in the next conclave, including Father Fernández Artime.
Pope tells Cardinal-elect Ángel Artime that he can remain head of the Salesian order until July 31, 2024, when he will give him a new role in the church.
He described his nomination as cardinal as “a gift that Pope Francis has given us as a Salesian congregation and a Salesian family.” The Salesians were founded by St. John Bosco, a 19th-century Italian educator, and are present in 133 countries today. Dedicated to apostolic and missionary activity and to the many works of Christian charity, the congregation of brothers and priests finds the heart of their charism in the service of young people, especially the poorest and most abandoned.
“We should have no doubt about how much the pope loves us, and in equal measure Pope Francis knows how much we all love him and how we support him, in so far as possible, through our prayer and affection,” Father Fernández Artime said. He got to know Francis many years before he became pope when Father Fernández Artime was appointed Salesian provincial for southern Argentina in 2009—a role he held until his election as major rector in 2014.
He revealed that the pope sent him a letter, delivered by hand, 30 minutes after making the announcement on July 9, requesting that he come to talk with him as soon as possible to agree on the time necessary for [ending] his service as rector major of the Salesians.
Pope Francis received him in a private audience on the afternoon of July 11, he said, and “in a fraternal dialogue and mutual affection,” decided on how to proceed until a new superior of the congregation has to be elected.
Father Fernández Artime told the Salesians that in accord “with the will of the Holy Father,” the following steps are to be taken: The Salesians will hold their 29th General Chapter in February 2025 to elect a new rector major. Father Fernández Artime was elected rector major in 2014 for a six-year term, and re-elected for a second six-year term in 2020.
There is speculation in Rome, he would seem well suited to succeed Cardinal João Braz de Aviz of Brazil as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
He said Pope Francis, “for the good of the [Salesian] congregation,” decreed that Father Fernández Artime, although soon to be a cardinal, “could continue as major rector until July 31, 2024,” after which date he would present his resignation and Francis would call him to a new “service” in the church. He added that the pope did not tell him what that new role would be, and said “it is better that way.” There is speculation in Rome, however, that given his international experience as head of the Salesians, he would seem well suited to succeed Cardinal João Braz de Aviz of Brazil (who turned 76 last April) as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
From July 31, 2024, he said, Stefano Martoglio, S.B.D., the vicar of the Salesians, would take over the governance of the Salesians until their general chapter in February 2025. Father Fernández Artime said he would convoke the general chapter at least one year in advance of that date.
He told the Salesian family that the pope asked “all the Salesian brothers and the dear Salesian family that we continue intensifying our prayer” and “he asked us to pray for him.”
The cardinal-elect concluded by asking his fellow Salesians to “pray for me in view of the new service in the church that, like Don Bosco, I accept in obedience, without having sought or desired it. Our beloved father, Don Bosco, is witness to this before the Lord Jesus.”
When he receives the red hat from Pope Francis on Sept. 30, Father Fernández Artime will join 9 other Salesian members of the College of Cardinals. On that date, four Salesian cardinals will have a right to vote in the next conclave: Cristóbal López Romero, Daniel F. Sturla Berhouet, Charles Maung Bo and Ángel Fernández Artime.
Six Salesian cardinals are no longer electors having passed the age of 80: Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Angelo Amato, Tarcisio Bertone, Raffaele Farina, Ricardo Ezzati Andrelloe and Óscar A. Rodríguez Maradiaga.
