Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Celestino Aós Braco, the Archbishop of Santiago, Chile, due to reaching the age limit. He has appointed Monsignor Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, the former Archbishop of Concepción, as the new Archbishop.
Monsignor Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib was born on March 10, 1957, in Santiago, Chile. After obtaining a degree in engineering, he was ordained a priest on April 6, 1991. He specialized in Moral Theology at the Pontifical Alfonsian Academy in Rome and earned a doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Additionally, he holds a master’s degree in Bioethics from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome.
On April 6, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the Titular Bishop of Noba and Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago, Chile. Later, in 2011, Pope Benedict XVI promoted him to the position of Archbishop of Concepción.
Cardinal Aós Braco, who had previously served as the Bishop of Copiapó, was named the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Chile, on March 23, 2019, following the scandal of child abuse within the Chilean Church. He later became the Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago on December 27 of the same year, succeeding Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello.
In a significant step, Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church in the consistory held on November 28, 2020, with the title of Saints Nereus and Achilleus. In 2021, he was elected as the President of the Chilean Episcopal Conference.
