Pope names nuncio in Germany to be Vatican's new foreign minister

Published: 2003-10-07

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II has named his nuncio in Germany to be the Vatican's new foreign minister, but has not announced a new assignment for Cardinal-designate Jean-Louis Tauran, who currently holds the position. Italian Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, 68, who has been the Vatican ambassador to Germany since 1995, was named Oct. 7 to be the secretary for relations with states in the Vatican Secretariat of State. French Cardinal-designate Tauran, 60, has held the post since late 1990. The pope's Sept. 28 announcement that Cardinal-designate Tauran would become a cardinal also signaled he would be getting a new job title, since two cardinals generally do not hold positions in the same Vatican office and the secretary of state is usually a cardinal. Archbishop Lajolo was born in Novara, Italy, in 1935 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1960.

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