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Home / Awards / Path to Peace Award / 2004 THE PATH TO PEACE AWARD RECIPIENTS 2004 - His Eminence, Cardinal Angelo Sodano Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State, Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals, was born on 23 November 1927 in Isola d’Asti, Italy. He is the second of six children. Having studied philosophy and theology at the seminary in Asti, he then obtained a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University. He was ordained a priest on 23 September 1950 and dedicated his first years to teaching dogmatic theology at the diocesan seminary and to the youth apostolate. He joined the Holy See’s Diplomatic Corps in 1959, and after having graduated from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, served in Ecuador, Uruguay and Chile, as Secretary of the Nunciature. In 1968, he was called to Rome to serve in the then Council for Public Affairs of the Church. During this period, as a member of the Holy See’s delegations, he visited Romania, Hungary and the then East Germany. On 30 November 1977 he was named titular Archbishop of Nova di Cesare and Apostolic Nuncio in Chile. He was ordained Bishop on 15 January 1978. In Chile, he worked for 10 years visiting nearly every diocese. He was also the pontifical mediator between Chile and Argentina, for the peaceful solution to the controversy over the sovereignty of the two States in some zones of the austral territory. On 28 May 1988 John Paul II called him to serve as Secretary of the then Council for Public Affairs of the Church. On 1 March 1989, with the entry into force of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, he assumed the title of Secretary for Relations with States. He is also the President of the Interdicasterial Commission for the Church in Eastern Europe from May 1988, which at that time, was known as the Pontifical Commission for Russia. On 1 September 1990, he was appointed as Pro-Secretary of State. On 28 June 1991, he was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope John Paul II, and the following day was named Secretary of State. On 30 November 2002 he was elected Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals. Currently, he is also a member of the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishops and Oriental Churches; and the commissions for Vatican City State, and Institute for Works of Religion. As Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Sodano is responsible for the diplomatic and political activity of the Holy See and for coordinating the work of the Roman Curia. He represented the Holy See in various international conferences and summits, especially at the meetings of Foreign Ministers of the Conference of Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) held in Vienna, Copenhagen, New York and Paris, and at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in September 2000. He personally represented the Holy Father at the State funeral of former President Ronald W. Reagan, on 11 July 2004 at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Cardinal Sodano is the Pope’s first collaborator in the government of the universal Church and is responsible for all that concerns the embassies accredited to the Holy See, supervising the Vatican’s foreign policy, and ensuring the Holy See’s presence in international organizations and conferences.
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