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'' His Eminence '' Cardinal Francis Arinze, S.T.D. (born 1 November 1932 in Eziowelle, Nigeria ) is an Africa n Prelate of the Roman Catholic Church . He has been Prefect Of The Congregation For Divine Worship And The Discipline Of The Sacraments since 2002 and Cardinal Bishop Of Velletri-Segni (succeeding Pope Benedict XVI ) since 2005 . Arinze was one of the principal advisors to Pope John Paul II , and was considered '' Papabile '' before the 2005 Papal Conclave , which elected Benedict XVI.Carroll, Rory. 2003, October 3. " The Guardian Profile: Francis Cardinal Arinze ." ''The Guardian''. EARLY LIFE Arinze was born in on his ninth birthday ( 1 November 1941 ) by Father Michael Tansi , who was Beatified by John Paul II in 1998 . His parents themselves later converted to Catholicism . At age 15, he entered All Hallows Seminary of Nnewi from which he graduated and earned a Degree in Philosophy 1950 . His father was initially opposed to him entering the seminary, but after seeing how much Francis enjoyed it, he encouraged him. Arinze stayed at All Hallows until 1953 to teach. In 1955 , he went to Rome to study Theology at the Pontifical Urban University , where he ultimately earned a Doctorate In Sacred Theology '' Summa Cum Laude ''. On 23 November 1958 , at the Chapel of the university, Arinze was Ordained to the Priesthood by Grégoire-Pierre Cardinal Agagianian , pro-prefect of the Sacred Congregation For The Propagation Of The Faith . AS PRIEST From 1961 to 1962 , Arinze was professor of Liturgy , Logic and basic Philosophy at Bigard Memorial Seminary . From there, he was appointed regional secretary for Catholic education for the eastern part of Nigeria . Eventually, Arinze was transferred to London , where he attended the Institute Of Education and graduated in 1964 . AS ARCHBISHOP On 6 July 1965 , Arinze returned to Nigeria, and was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Onitsha and Titular Archbishop of ''Fissiana''. Consecrated on 29 August that same year by Archbishop Charles Heerey, C.S. Sp. , he became the youngest bishop in the world at the age of 32. It was as coadjutor that Arinze proved himself a highly intelligent and able leader. Only two years later, he was asked to take over the government of the Archdiocese Of Onitsha and on 26 June 1967 was appointed its Archbishop . In 1979 , Archbishop Arinze continued to rise in the ranks of the hierarchy. His peers elected him President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria where he served until 1984 . AS CARDINAL In 1984 , Pope John Paul II requested his services to become Pro-Prefect of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, known today as the Pontifical Council For Interreligious Dialogue . On 8 April 1985 Arinze resigned from his post in Onitsha, and the Pope named him a Cardinal Deacon , with the title of '' S. Giovanni Della Pigna '' in the Consistory of that 25 May ; he was raised to the rank of Cardinal Priest in 1996 . Two days following his elevation to Cardinal Deacon, Arinze was appointed President of Interreligious Dialogue, and held the office until 1 October 2002 , when he was named Prefect Of The Congregation For Divine Worship And The Discipline Of The Sacraments . All major Vatican officials automatically lose their positions during a Sede Vacante , and so, the cardinal lost his position on April 2, 2005 due to the death of the Pope.
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