(born
April 19 ,
1935 ) is an
Archbishop of the
Roman Catholic Church in the
United States . He currently serves as
Archbishop Of Philadelphia overseeing the
Archdiocese Of Philadelphia in
Pennsylvania .
Cardinal Rigali is one of seven children born to Henry A. Rigali and Frances Irene White. He was born and raised in
Los Angeles ,
California , and ordained there by
James Cardinal McIntyre in the
Cathedral Of Saint Vibiana on
April 25 ,
1961 .
In
1964 Rigali obtained a
Doctorate in
Canon Law from the
Pontifical Gregorian University in
Rome . He continued studying in Rome for two years while serving in the English-language section of the
Secretariat Of State of the
Vatican City . Rigali then served from
September 1966 to
February 1970 at the Apostolic
Nunciature in
Madagascar . It was during this period that he was named a Papal Chamberlain (
Monsignor ) by
Pope Paul VI .
During his service at the Secretariat of State, he accompanied
Pope John Paul II on a number of international pastoral visits, including the Holy Father's first two major journeys to the
United States in
1979 and
1987 . The
1979 trip included a visit to
Philadelphia .
From
1985 to
1990 , in addition to being President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, he held a number of positions at the Vatican, serving the Secretariat of State, the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church, the
Congregation For Bishops and the
Pontifical Council For The Laity . On
December 21 ,
1989 , he was named Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops and on
January 2 ,
1990 he became the Secretary of the
College Of Cardinals . He was a member of the Permanent Interdicasterial Commission and served as a consultant to the
Pontifical Commission For Latin America and the
Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith . During the same time, he was also engaged in pastoral services to a number of parishes and seminaries in Rome.
On
January 25 ,
1994 ,
Pope John Paul II appointed him the seventh
Archbishop Of St. Louis (eighth
Bishop ). While serving as Archbishop in St. Louis, Rigali showed a great interest in schools, visiting every high school in the
Archdiocese . He was widely credited as an able administrator and champion fund-raiser during his time.
In January
1999 , Cardinal Rigali hosted the Pastoral Visit of
Pope John Paul II to the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the only such visit to a single diocese in the
United States during the pontificate. The Holy Father supposedly chose to be hosted by the Archdiocese of St. Louis because of his close friendship with Archbishop Rigali.
On
July 15 ,
2003 ,
Pope John Paul II appointed Archbishop Rigali as the twelfth
Bishop and eighth
Archbishop Of Philadelphia . He was named a cardinal on
September 28 ,
2003 , with the title of
Cardinal Priest of the ''Titulus
S. Priscae ''.
Cardinal Rigali was the only American cardinal to serve as a co-celebrant in the funeral mass for
Pope John Paul II .
He was one of the
Cardinal Electors who participated in the
2005 Papal Conclave that selected
Pope Benedict XVI .
In September
2005 , Rigali became embroiled in the scandal surrounding accusations of pedophilia and sex with minors among clergymen. He staunchly defended the actions of his two immediate predecessors,
John Krol and
Anthony Bevilacqua , who have been named in a Philadelphia
Grand Jury report as sponsors of a coverup.
