Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap. , born 1934, Doctor of Theology (Fribourg, Switzerland) and of Classical Literature (Catholic University of Milan), was Professor of History of Ancient Christianity at the Catholic University of Milan and Head of its Department of Religious Sciences. He was a member of the International Theological Commission from 1975 to 1980. In 1979, he resigned his teaching position to become a full-time preacher of the Gospel. In 1980, he was appointed by Pope St. John Paul II as Preacher to the Papal Household, in which capacity he still serves. Pope Francis, in 2020, raised him to the rank of cardinal.
