Adrianus Johannes Simonis

Adrianus Johannes Simonis (born November 26, 1931) is a Dutch Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Utrecht from 1983 to 2007, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985.

Biography

Born in Lisse, one of eleven children of a dentist, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1957. infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Adrianus Simonis
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
See=Utrecht (Emeritus)|He studied biblical exegesis in Rome between 1959 and 1966, and was named Bishop of Rotterdam on December 29, 1970. The nomination of a conservative priest as a bishop in the then staunchly progressive Dutch Catholic Church caused a lot of turmoil, and Simonis had to devote himself to promoting harmony and unity in his community. Simonis became Archbishop of Utrecht on December 3, 1983. A former president of the Dutch Bishops' Conference, Simonis was a major supporter of the Pope John Paul II's eventful visit to the Netherlands in 1985.

He was elevated to the College of Cardinals during the Consistory of May 25, 1985, with the "Titulus S. Clementi", making him the seventh cardinal of the Dutch Church. He is a member of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

The Cardinal was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.

Simonis submitted his letter of resignation as Utrecht's archbishop to the Vatican on November 13, 2006, with Pope Benedict later accepting it on April 14, 2007. Simonis will serve as the archdiocese's Apostolic Administrator until a successor is named. As of December 11th 2007 Wim Eijk is appointed as Simonis' successor. Notably, Simonis has been relieved of office in the run-up to his golden jubilee as a priest in June 2007.

External links

* [http://www.catholic-pages.com/hierarchy/cardinals_bio.asp?ref=70 Catholic-pages bio] of Cardinal Simonis