Giovanni Angelo Becciu

Giovanni Angelo Becciu (born 2 June 1948) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and convicted felon.

Becciu was born in 1948 in Pattada (Sassari), Sardinia, Italy.

After completing his studies in theology and philosophy he was ordained to the priesthood on 27 August 1972.

He attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where he earned a doctoral degree in canon law.

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 May 1984.

He worked at the missions in Central African Republic, Sudan, New Zealand, Liberia, Great Britain, France, and the United States.

Becciu knows French, English, Spanish, Sardinian, and Portuguese.

An archbishop since 2001, he held several appointments in the diplomatic service of the Holy See between 1984 and 2011, including those of Apostolic Nuncio to Angola and to Cuba.

On 15 October 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Angola and Titular Archbishop of Rusellae.

On 15 November he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to São Tomé and Principe as well.

He received his episcopal consecration on 1 December 2001 from Cardinal Angelo Sodano with co-consecrators Archbishop Paolo Romeo, a Vatican diplomat, and Bishop Sebastiano Sanguinetti, who hailed from Becciu's native diocese in Sardinia.

Becciu "played a crucial rôle" in the controversial 2005 appointment of Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias, then auxiliary bishop of Luanda, as bishop of Cabinda in Angola.

Because he was not from Cabinda and because of his family links to the regime of José Eduardo dos Santos, Vieira Dias's appointment was met with massive protests by Cabindan Catholics, and his installation was delayed for well over a year.

The controversy around Vieira Dias's nomination resulted in the beating of Apostolic Administrator Eugenio Dal Corso while he was preparing to celebrate mass, the suspension of a number of priests, and a protracted strike in which many Cabindan clergy refused to celebrate mass for several months.

In response, Becciu emphasized that Vieira Dias's nomination was a matter of papal prerogative and would not be revoked.

Becciu went to Cabinda in order to meet with Dal Corso and with local clergy and laypeople.

His meeting with laypeople was "hostile" and his car was stoned by a crowd.

Vieira Dias's installation ultimately took place in June 2006.

In advance of Benedict XVI's 2009 visit to Angola, Becciu defended the pope's rejection of condoms as a means of preventing the spread of AIDS, saying "It's too easy and it's very cheap to say the solution of AIDS is the condom, you don't have the solution there.... So what the Pope is saying is that we must surpass this, because AIDS means there is a lack of understanding of the concept of true love between men and women.... Because of that, many times we are not of the same thinking as NGOs."

As he left Angola for his next assignment, Becciu denounced popular belief in witchcraft that led to children being accused as sorcerers and abused: "the charges are a frequent practice on the African continent and they must be eliminated".

On 23 July 2009 Pope Benedict named him Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba.

Becciu's selection for this challenging role was seen by observers as a sign of his high reputation in Rome.

Cuban President Raul Castro praised his work on behalf of improved relations between Cuba and the Holy See.

From 2011 to 2018 he was Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, a key position in the Roman Curia.

On 10 May 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Becciu to the office of Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, replacing Fernando Filoni.

The Substitute for General Affairs reports to the Cardinal Secretary of State.

He usually met with the Pope each day to handle the business of the Roman Curia; his position was comparable to chief of staff.

It had been described as "the most complex job in the Roman Curia" and a key to "the administrative success or failure of a papacy".

Though Becciu was viewed as "a genial and effective diplomat", his appointment was unusual in that he lacked experience in the Curia.

It was also reported that his position as Substitute (sostituto) in the Secretariat of State also made Becciu the equivalent to being the papal chief of staff.

In January 2015, after Cuba and the United States announced efforts to improve their relationship, Becciu, now the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, expressed his support for an end to the U.S. embargo, citing "the right of peoples not to be deprived of daily economic and social subsistence".

He credited the thaw in relations to Pope Francis and said that he expected the Cuban government to introduce a less centralized economic system.

Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018.

He was head of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 2018 to 2020, when he resigned from that office and from the rights and privileges of a cardinal, including the right to participate in a papal conclave, after being implicated in a financial corruption scandal; he retains the title of cardinal.

In July 2021, a Vatican judge ordered Becciu and nine others to stand trial on charges of embezzlement, abuse of office and subornation.

The charges are in connection with an investment in London real estate.

Becciu said he was innocent and "the victim of a conspiracy".

Becciu's trial is the first criminal trial of a cardinal in a Vatican court.

He was convicted in the Vatican in December 2023 and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison.

On 24 September 2020, he resigned the rights associated with the cardinalate.