Pio Laghi (born Castiglione di Forlì, May 21, 1922) is a Roman Catholic Cardinal who has served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals during a consistory. ... The Roman Curia - usually (though inaccurately) called the Vatican - is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ...

In 1980, Pope John Paul II advanced him to Apostolic Delegate and later in 1984 Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the United States, where he was entrusted with emplacing conservatives in key positions, such as Bernard Cardinal Law in Boston and John Cardinal O'Connor in New York. In 1990 John Paul named Laghi to head the Congregation for Catholic Education, and in the consistory of 1991 made him a cardinal, though Argentine writers had begun exposing his links to the past dictatorship and the "Dirty War". Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from... Bernard Cardinal Law Bernard Francis Cardinal Law (born November 4, 1931 in Torreon, Mexico) is a Roman Catholic cardinal and is the archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Susannae and a member of the Roman Curia that governs the Universal Church. ... John Cardinal OConnor John Joseph Cardinal OConnor, (January 15, 1920 – May 3, 2000) was the eleventh bishop (eighth archbishop) of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, serving from 1984 until his death in 2000. ... The Congregation for Catholic Education is a dicastery of the Roman curia responsible for: (1) seminaries (except those regulated by the Congregations for the Evangelization of Peoples and for Oriental Churches) and houses of formation of religious and secular institutes; (2) universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either... // Antiquity Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply sitting together, just as the Greek syn(h)edrion (from which the Biblical sanhedrin was a corruption). ... Dirty War (in Spanish: Guerra Sucia) refers to a program of a state-sponsored war on domestic citizens in response to strikes, social unrest, violence or subversion that is claimed to threaten a countrys stability. ...

On December 26, 1994, Time Magazine (U.S.) published an article titled 'Who Will Be First Among Us?' which prematurely speculated on who would be the next Pope "As John Paul approaches the twilight of his papacy." Laghi was listed among eight Cardinals who were considered leading candidates. The article identified Laghi as head of the Congregation for Catholic Education with conservative credentials. In 1997 the Dirty War scandal was widely exposed, and, though Laghi denied the charges, it was considered to have ended his chance to become Pope. December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...

He headed the Congregation for Catholic Education until 1999, and from 1999 to 2001 he was the Cardinal Protodeacon (the longest serving Cardinal Deacon), before exercising his right as a Cardinal Deacon of ten years' standing to become a Cardinal Priest of the Title of San Pietro in Vincoli. In 2002 he became too old to vote in a papal election but continued to undertake special missions for his friend Pope John Paul. The Cardinal Deacons are the lowest-ranked of the three orders of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Cardinal Deacons are the lowest-ranked of the three orders of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Cardinal Priests are the most numerous of the three orders of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. ... The chains of St. ... The Sistine Chapel is the location of the conclave. ...

On March 1, 2003, Laghi, as special papal envoy to the United States, met with President Bush and conveyed the Pope's request that the United States reconsider the decision to go to war against Iraq. President Bush was photographed with Laghi and commented that he was "an old family friend." During the presidency of Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, Laghi had been Papal Nuncio to the United States and a frequent guest of the first President Bush and his family. March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American businessman and politician, was elected in 2000 as the 43rd President of the United States of America, re-elected in 2004, and is currently serving his second term in that office. ... Order: 41st President Vice President: Dan Quayle Term of office: January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 Preceded by: Ronald Reagan Succeeded by: Bill Clinton Date of birth: June 12, 1924 Place of birth: Milton, Massachusetts First Lady: Barbara Pierce Bush Political party: Republican George Herbert Walker Bush, KBE (born June... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ...

External links

• Biography at The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church site
• Catholic-Hierarchy.Org

Reference

• Francis A. Burkle-Young, Passing the keys : modern cardinals, conclaves, and the election of the next pope. ISBN 1568331304 pages 315-317,325-326.