Paolo Romeo

Paolo Romeo (20 February 1938 – 25 October 2026) was an Italian cardinal and archbishop of Palermo. He was appointed to the see of Palermo by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2006.

Romeo was the fifth of nine children. After primary school, he entered the seminary and began studying theology.

His bishop sent him to Rome in 1959 to complete his academic studies, and he achieved the licentiate in theology at the Gregorian University and a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University.

He was ordained on 18 March 1961 at the chapel of the Episcopal Seminary of Acireale; he was incardinated in the Diocese of Acireale. He continued his studies at the university and did pastoral ministry as assistant to the Scouts Group "Roma IX" in "Collegio San Giuseppe in Piazza di Spagna" and diocesan assistant of the association "Silenziosi Operai della Croce".

In 1964, he was admitted to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and on 1 January 1967 he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Romeo worked in the nunciatures in the Philippines, Belgium and Luxembourg, the European Community, Venezuela, and Rwanda and Burundi. In 1967, he was called to the Council for Public Affairs of the Church in the Secretariat of State. At the same time, he worked as director of the "Casa Internazionale del Clero" and was regional assistant for the Lazio of the AGESC.

In 1976, he was recalled to the Vatican Secretariat of State to monitor the life of the Catholic community in the countries of Latin America and the activities of the Latin American Episcopal Conference, especially at that time, which involved preparation for the 3rd General Conference of that continent, which opened on 29 January 1979.

On 17 December 1983, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Vulturia by Pope John Paul II and that same day was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti. Romeo stayed in Haiti until his appointment to serve as Nuncio in Colombia in April 1990. On 5 February 1999, he was appointed Nuncio to Canada.

On 17 April 2001, he was named to represent the Holy See in Italy and San Marino. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Romeo to serve as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Palermo on 19 December 2006, replacing Salvatore De Giorgi, who had reached the retirement age of 75 in September 2005. In 2005, Archbishop Romeo was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Archbishop Romeo received the pallium in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on 29 June 2007 from Pope Benedict along with 45 other metropolitan archbishops. Archbishop Romeo was elected president of the Sicilian Episcopal Conference on 14 February 2007.

Romeo was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Odigitria at a consistory on 20 November 2010 and was eligible to vote in a papal conclave until his 80th birthday in 2018. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis.

In December 2010, he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. On 3 October 2010, he welcomed Pope Benedict when he visited the Sicilian capital. Cardinal Romeo was Sicilian Grand Prior of the Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. At age 75, he submitted his resignation letter to Pope Francis, which was accepted on 27 October 2015.

Cardinal Paolo Romeo died on 25 October 2026, aged 88.