Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín
Pope appoints new Papal Almoner, names Cardinal Krajewski
Archbishop of Łódź
Pope Leo XIV appoints Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín as
the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, known as the Papal
Almoner, and names Cardinal Konrad Krajewski as the Metropolitan Archbishop of
Łódź, in Poland.
By Devin Watkins
On Thursday, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Luis Marín de San
Martín, OSA, as the new Papal Almoner, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service
of Charity, and conferred on him the dignity of Archbishop.
Archbishop Marín de San Martín has served as the Undersecretary
of the Secretariat of the Synod since 2021.
At the same time, the Pope named Cardinal Konrad Krajewski,
now Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, as the
Metropolitan Archbishop of Łódź, his birthplace in Poland.
Cardinal Krajewski has served as the Papal Almoner since
2013, when Pope Francis also made him the titular Archbishop of Benevento.
The late Pope created him Cardinal at the Consistory on June
28, 2018, and with the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium,
Cardinal Krajewski became the Prefect of the newly instituted Dicastery for the
Service of Charity.
Speaking to Vatican News’ Benedetta Capelli after his
appointment, Cardinal Krajewski thanked God for his 28 years of service in the
Vatican.
As he studied liturgical theology in Rome, then-Fr.
Krajewski became the Pontifical Master of Ceremonies for Pope St. John Paul II,
also serving Pope Benedict XVI throughout his pontificate and then Pope Francis
for 10 months.
“I experienced different things because each Pope has given
the Church something new, each with a different emphasis,” he recalled.
Cardinal Krajewski
with refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2019
When Pope Francis asked him to become the Papal Almoner, the
Pope spoke to Cardinal Krajewski for two hours aboard the flight to Rio de
Janeiro for World Youth Day in 2013.
“He explained to me what I had to do as Almoner,” said
Cardinal Krajewski. “He asked me to sleep next to the poor, to go out from the
Vatican, and always, at the end of the day, to have the bank account empty
because everything was destined for works of charity. But there is one thing
that has always stayed with me that Francis told me: ‘If you don’t know what to
do, always ask the Lord, and ask what He would do in your place.’”
During his tenure, the Cardinal carried out 10 mission to
Ukraine in the Pope’s name, personally driving ambulances and other vehicles
laden with emergency aid for the suffering population.
Asked about his appointment as the Archbishop of Łódź,
Cardinal Krajewski said Pope Leo asked him if he wanted to bring all the
experiences gained at the heart of the universal Church to a local Church.
“I accepted willingly, because the good of the Church is
born from closeness to the faithful,” said the Cardinal. “My diocese is large;
it has two and a half million inhabitants; I am ready to serve.”
Despite his years of service in the Vatican, Cardinal
Krajewski expressed his desire to return home to Poland and to the city of his
birth.
“I never really left Poland,” he admitted, “I always
remained among the people, and I also had a bit of longing.”
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