Who is Angelo Becciu: the controversial cardinal vetoed by Pope Francis who insists on participating in the Conclave?

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu (76 years old) was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for financial fraud in 2023, marking an unprecedented move within the Vatican walls. The crimes were linked to financial irregularities, abuse of power, embezzlement, and alleged shady financial operations, including the purchase of a luxury residence in London. It also came to light that a €125,000 donation had been made to an association linked to Caritas in Ozieri, Sardinia, whose president was one of the cardinal’s brothers.

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The sentence included a lifetime ban from holding public office within the Holy See, making him the first cardinal to face criminal prosecution inside the Vatican. He was also abruptly dismissed by the Pope, who stripped him of his rights as a cardinal of the Church.

“I have the right to vote in the Conclave”

Until yesterday, he did not appear on the official list of 135 cardinals under the age of 80 eligible to vote in the papal election, even though he is 76. However, he gave an interview to an Italian media outlet claiming that he has the right to enter the conclave: “They can’t deny me that right.” The high-ranking prelate took part yesterday in the first meeting of the congregations, the preliminary gatherings ahead of the conclave.

Cardinal Becciu states that his exclusion from the conclave was communicated only through a note from the Press Office, and not via a formal decree. According to him, during the last consistory held on December 8, the Pope acknowledged that his cardinal privileges remained intact.

He also claims there was no explicit intent to exclude him from the conclave, nor was he asked to formally resign in writing. “The list published by the Press Office has no legal standing and should be seen for what it is,” he said.

In 2020, Pope Francis removed Becciu’s rights associated with the cardinalate, though without formally expelling him from the College of Cardinals or demanding a written resignation. As a result, his legal and ecclesiastical status is generating varied interpretations among canon law experts.

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Becciu spent seven years in close and confidential collaboration, first for five years as Substitute for General Affairs at the Secretariat of State, which is the third highest-ranking position in the Vatican after the Pope and the Secretary of State, and then two more years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

“This death is a great sorrow, in light of a relationship that was always frank, serene, and marked by the utmost respect, even in the face of natural and human differences of opinion. The Pope accepted my views and together we shared every decision, even the most painful ones,” he told L’Unione Sarda.

The prelate from Pattada (Sardinia) left the island yesterday to return to Rome, where he had been spending the Easter holidays, following the announcement of Pope Francis’s death.