# Fernando Chomalí Garib

Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib (born 10 March 1957) is a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago in Chile since December 2023. He was consecrated a bishop in 2006, served five years as auxiliary bishop of Santiago, and then from 2011 to 2023 was Metropolitan Archbishop of Concepción. He has been a cardinal since 7 December 2024.

## Biography

Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib was born on 10 March 1957 in Santiago de Chile, one of five children born to Juan Chomalí Celse and Vitalia Garib Aguad; he has described himself as "a descendant of a Palestinian". He studied at the Colegio de Alianza Francesa and the National Institute of Santiago. He earned a degree in civil engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 1981 and then studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Major Seminary of Santiago beginning in 1984. He was ordained a priest on 6 April 1991 by archbishop Carlos Oviedo Cavada.
In Rome, he earned a licentiate in moral theology from the Pontifical Alphonsian Academy in 1993, a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1994, and a master’s degree in bioethics from the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in 1998. He has worked as a parish vicar, episcopal delegate for university pastoral care, professor of moral theology and bioethics in the Faculties of Theology and Medicine of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and in the Major Seminary of Santiago; as parish priest of Santa María de la Misericordia, moderator of the Curia and president delegate of the Economic Council of the archdiocese.
He has been a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life since 2001. From 2010 to 2012 he was a member of its steering committee. His membership was most recently renewed in 2017.
On 6 April 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him titular bishop of Noba and auxiliary bishop of Santiago de Chile. He received his episcopal consecration on 3 June from Aldo Cavalli, the apostolic nuncio to Chile.

### Archbishop of Concepción

On 20 April 2011, Pope Benedict promoted him as archbishop of Concepción.
He served from March 2014 to March 2015 as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Osorno. In the final days of that assignment, he met with Pope Francis and tried without success to impress upon him the impact his appointment of Juan Barros as Osorno's new bishop was having. Chomalí had long been friends with Juan Carlos Cruz, who was charging Barros with failure to protect him from sexual abuse.
On 10 September 2018, in a pastoral letter on the sexual abuse crisis, he called for the Church to cooperate fully with civil authorities: "We must obey the law because we are not above the norms that govern the country." He regretted that Church had lost its reputation as "a voice for the voiceless" and had become "for a growing percentage of the population ... a cause of scandal, of profound questioning, of much distrust and little credibility". He decried the impact of clericalism and proposed separating the offices that handle complaints of abuse from other diocesan offices and new rules to create transparency for seminaries and church judicial proceedings.
He became vice president of the Episcopal Conference of Chile on 28 July 2021. On 19 December, 2021, following the election of Gabriel Boric as the president of Chile, he hoped that the new president would value "the family as the place where people learn to grow", and that he would act decisively in favour of the most vulnerable and weak in society. He also encouraged the president-elect to promote employment, "because it is a privileged path to overcome the poverty that afflicts many Chileans."

### Archbishop of Santiago

On 25 October 2023, Pope Francis named him Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago. He was installed there on 16 December.

### Cardinalate

On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make Chomalí a cardinal on 8 December, a date that was later changed to 7 December. Shortly after the announcement, he reacted on his X account: "I'm very excited. I hope to be a contribution to the Chilean Church.
On 7 December 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal, assigning him as a member of the order of cardinal priests the title of San Mauro Abate.

## Coat of arms

* As auxillary bishop
* As archbishop
* As cardinal