John Paul II appointed him to be an archbishop and secretary of the Congregation for Bishops in 1987 and a cardinal in 2000. Re has served as vice-dean of the College of Cardinals since 2017.

Once the conclave starts, the dean’s role is largely ceremonial. Since both Cardinal Re and his deputy, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 81, are too old to preside, the duty will fall on the most ...

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re celebrates a final Mass with cardinals inside St. Peter’s Basilica, before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

Cardinals have entered St. Peter's Basilica to celebrate the final Mass before the conclave to elect a new pope. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, is celebrating the Mass ...

Cardinals from more than 70 countries processed into St. Peter’s Basilica on May 7 for the solemn Mass “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” — the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff ...

A chair is taken away at the end of a final Mass celebrated by cardinals inside St. Peter's Basilica, before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo ...

In a state of complete silence, the cardinals will cast their first vote in the conclave. The first smoke to be seen exiting from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel is expected to occur around 7 ...

Catholic cardinals will sequester themselves Wednesday behind the Vatican’s medieval walls for the start of a conclave to elect the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.