Giovanni Battista Re participant in 2005 papal conclave
College of Cardinals
Re was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. He was identified by numerous commentators before and during the 2005 conclave as a potential successor to John Paul II.When Pope Benedict XVI resigned on 28 February 2013, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the subdean, were over the age of 80 and therefore ineligible to participate in the conclave to elect his successor. Re, as the senior cardinal elector, presided over the conclave that elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis. At the new pope's inauguration on 19 March 2013, Re was one of the six cardinals who made a public profession of obedience to the new pope on behalf of the College of Cardinals.On 10 June 2017, Pope Francis approved Re's election as subdean of the College of Cardinals by the cardinals of the suburbicarian sees. On 18 January 2020, Pope Francis approved his election to a five-year term as dean of the College of Cardinals by the nine Latin Church cardinal bishops.As Dean of the College of Cardinals, Re along with Pope Francis), presided over the State Funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on January 5, 2023. It was the first funeral for a retired Pontiff since Pope Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415 and died two years later.
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