Pope Leo XIV names Augustinian prelate as new prefect of charity dicastery

ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV has named Spanish Augustinian Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, reassigning Cardinal Konrad Krajewski to serve as archbishop of his home diocese in his native Poland.

The Vatican announced March 12 that Cardinal Krajewski, 62, who served as papal almoner for nearly the entirety of Pope Francis’ pontificate, has been appointed metropolitan archbishop of Lódz, ending more than a decade of service in the Roman Curia.

As his successor, Pope Leo has selected now-Archbishop Marín, 64, a native of Madrid and a longtime personal friend to oversee the Vatican’s charitable works. With the appointment, the pope conferred on him the dignity of archbishop.

The Spanish Augustinian shares deep personal ties with Pope Leo. The two men lived in the same Augustinian community in Rome for five years when the future pope, then Father Robert Prevost, served as prior general of the order.

Father Prevost asked Father Marín to come to Rome in 2008 to manage the order’s general archives. When Bishop Prevost was later serving as bishop of Chiclayo, Father Marín visited him in Peru on several occasions, according to the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.

“Those of us who know him are aware of (our brother Roberto) Robert Prevost’s many virtues, his preparation and his extensive experience,” then-Bishop Marín wrote shortly after Pope Leo’s election. “I sincerely believe that he is the right person to guide the Church at this time.”

The appointment is one of the first of many changes to the Roman Curia expected from Pope Leo, though not among the most anticipated as several cardinal prefects have already reached or surpassed the retirement age of 75, a group that includes Cardinal Michael Czerny, 79, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, 78, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, 78, Cardinal Kurt Koch, 75, and Cardinal Arthur Roche, 75.

Archbishop Marín most recently served as joint undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, a post he has held since his appointment by Pope Francis in February 2021. He was consecrated a bishop that same year and holds a doctorate in sacred theology from Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid.

The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, also known as the Office of the Papal Almoner, manages voluntary donations and carries out charitable works on behalf of the Roman pontiff, directing aid to those in need and affected by disasters worldwide. The office traces its origins to the early centuries of the Church and was formally established by Pope Gregory X in the 13th century. It became a dicastery of the Roman Curia under Pope Francis’ 2022 apostolic constitution “Praedicate Evangelium.”

During Cardinal Krajewski’s tenure, the Polish cardinal became one of the Vatican’s most visible humanitarian figures, traveling to Ukraine multiple times to deliver aid including food, medicine, electric generators and other essential supplies following Russia’s 2022 invasion. He also made headlines for keeping churches open during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and for his hands-on ministry to Rome’s homeless population, at one point vacating his Vatican apartment for weeks so a Syrian refugee family could use it.

Cardinal Krajewski has described how Pope Francis transformed the role of papal almoner. “The Holy Father told me at the beginning: ‘You can sell your desk. You don’t need it. You need to get out of the Vatican. Don’t wait for people to come ringing. You need to go out and look for the poor,'” the cardinal recalled.

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