James Cardinal Stafford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Styles of James Cardinal Stafford |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Denver (Emeritus) |
James Francis Cardinal Stafford (born July 26, 1932 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American prelate, the Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Denver and the current Major Penitentiary, making him one of the highest ranking members of the Roman Curia from the United States and incidentally the second American to serve as Major Penitentiary in recent years.
Ordained a priest and then an auxiliary bishop in Baltimore, in 1982 he was named to head the diocese of Memphis, Tennessee. Four years later he was promoted to Archbishop of Denver, Colorado, where he served for ten years before being called to Rome. Archbishop Stafford (before he was appointed Cardinal) oversaw the events which took place at World Youth Day in 1995. Shortly after, Pope John Paul II moved him to Rome to work with the Roman Curia. Named President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 1996, he became Cardinal Deacon of Gesu Buon Pastore alla Montagnola in the consistory of 1998. In 2003 he was promoted to his present position, which handles requests for the forgiveness of sins and is one of the few that does not automatically expire sede vacante, and the only official allowed to be in contact with anyone outside the conclave. Stafford was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
| Preceded by: Carroll Thomas Dozier |
Bishop of Memphis 1982–1986 |
Succeeded by: Daniel Mark Buechlein, OSB |
| Preceded by: James Vincent Casey |
Archbishop of Denver 1986–1996 |
Succeeded by: Charles Joseph Chaput, OFM Cap |
| Preceded by: Eduardo Cardinal Pironio |
President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity 1996–2003 |
Succeeded by: Stanislaw Rylko |
| Preceded by: Luigi de Magistris |
Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary 2003–present |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
