Archbishop gianfranco ravasi

Italian prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1942)

Gianfranco Ravasi (born 18 October 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a biblical scholar. A cardinal since 2010, he was President of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 2007 to 2022. He headed Milan's Ambrosian Library from 1989 to 2007.

Biography

Early life

The oldest of three children, Ravasi was born in Merate, province of Lecco, Kingdom of Italy.

His Eminence Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi - Vatican Conference 2021

His father was an anti-fascist treasury agent who served in Sicily during World War II, but later deserted the army; it took him 18 months to return to his family.^[1] Ravasi later said: "My search has always been for something permanent, for what is behind the transitory, the contingent. I'm fighting loss and death, which probably relates to the absence of my father in my first years."^[1] His mother was a schoolteacher.

Early career

Ravasi planned on a career teaching Greek and Latinclassics before decided His Eminence Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi - Vatican Conference 2021 XEMY