Age, Biography, and Wiki
Cardinal Robert Sarah was born on June 15, 1945, in Guinea, West Africa. He is a revered figure in the Catholic Church, having served in various capacities, including as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 to 2021. His early life and education were deeply rooted in Catholicism, leading him to become a priest and eventually a cardinal.
| Occupation | Activists |
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| Date of Birth | 15 June 1945 |
| Age | 79 Years |
| Birth Place | Ourous, French Guinea |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | Guinea |
Height, Weight & Measurements
There is limited information available on Cardinal Sarah's physical measurements, as this data is not typically documented for religious figures.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Cardinal Sarah, like many high-ranking clergy in the Catholic Church, has devoted his life to religious service and has taken a vow of celibacy. Therefore, he is not married and does not have any known romantic relationships.
Johan Bonny, Bishop of Antwerp, complained that Sarah tried to silence any discussion of the pastoral care of gay Catholics in the discussion group he led at the Synod: "There was no way of discussing it in a peaceful way." Bonny said the Belgian participants found that the growing influence of the Africans prevented the pastoral solutions they favoured from getting a hearing. When Krzysztof Charamsa, a theologian who lost his position at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith when he revealed that he was in a homosexual relationship on the eve of the Synod, assessed the Synod's work, he singled out Sarah's language to challenge all the participants: "No one publicly said a word against those defamatory sentences. What kind of respect does that show to us all?"
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Cardinal Sarah's net worth is estimated to be around $2 million. His income primarily comes from his roles within the Catholic Church, though specific salary details are not publicly disclosed.
Career, Business, and Investments
Cardinal Sarah has had a distinguished career in the Catholic Church:
- Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship: He served in this position from 2014 to 2021, overseeing liturgical practices and sacramental discipline.
- Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples: Under Pope John Paul II, he held this role, focusing on evangelization efforts worldwide.
- President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum: Under Pope Benedict XVI, he led this council, which focuses on charitable activities.
- Cardinalate: He was elevated to cardinal in 2010, allowing him to participate in papal conclaves.
Social Network
Cardinal Sarah does not maintain a personal social media presence, as is common among high-ranking clergy. His communications are often channeled through official Vatican outlets or through his literary works.
On 1 October 2001, John Paul II named him secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a post he held for ten years. He used the occasion of his departure from Guinea, when he was awarded the country's highest honour, to condemn the government of Lansana Conté. He said that Guinean society was "built on the oppression of the insignificant by the powerful, on contempt for the poor and the weak, on the cleverness of poor stewards of the public good, on the bribery and corruption of the administration and the institutions of the republic".
Sarah has opposed various attempts to provide legal recognition to gays and lesbians, often casting his remarks in terms of a defence of traditional Catholic and African values against contemporary secular Western culture. On 28 January 2012, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, called on African nations to repeal laws that place sanctions on homosexual conduct. Sarah called the speech "stupid". When a journalist asked if Ban Ki-moon was "overstepping his responsibilities", Sarah replied: "Sure, you cannot impose something stupid like that. Poor countries like Africa just accept it because it's imposed upon them through money, through being tied to aid." He said that, "It's not possible to impose on the poor this kind of European mentality," and added that African bishops must react to this move against African culture.
In October 2015, he played a leading role in the Synod on the Family's rejection of attempts to ensure more welcoming language toward people who are gay or divorced and remarried. Addressing the Synod on perceived threats to marriage and the family, he said, "We need to be inclusive and welcoming to all that is human; but what comes from the Enemy cannot and must not be assimilated. You cannot join Christ and Belial! What Nazi-Fascism and Communism were in the 20th century, Western homosexual and abortion Ideologies and Islamic Fanaticism are today." He said that "Western homosexual and abortion ideologies and Islamic fanaticism" could be seen as "almost like two apocalyptic beasts" with demonic origins, drew parallels between them and Nazism and Communism, and noted that terrorist attacks in France and Tunisia had taken place on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that made same-sex civil marriage legal nationwide.
Education
Cardinal Sarah's educational background is deeply rooted in religious studies. He was ordained as a priest in 1969 and later became a bishop, eventually rising through the ranks to become a cardinal. His formal education includes seminary training and possibly additional theological studies, though specific details are not widely available.
In summary, Cardinal Robert Sarah is a prominent religious figure known for his conservative views and significant roles within the Catholic Church. His net worth reflects his modest income from ecclesiastical positions, and his career is marked by dedication to religious service.
He is a member of the Coniagui ethnic group in northern Guinea. In 1957, at age 12, he entered Saint Augustine Minor Seminary in Bingerville, Ivory Coast, where he studied for three years. Because in 1960 relations between newly independent Guinea and the Ivory Coast were strained, he continued his studies briefly in Conakry, Guinea, at Saint Mary of Dixinn Seminary run by the Holy Ghost Fathers, until the radical government of Guinea expropriated Church property in August 1961. After independent study at home, the Church negotiated a place for Sarah and some fellow seminarians at a government-run school in Kindia in March 1962 and then won the right to open a seminary, where Sarah earned his baccalaureate in 1964. In September of that year he was sent to study at the Grand Seminary in Nancy, France. Again, deteriorating international relations, this time between Guinea and France, forced him to interrupt his studies, and he completed his theological studies in Sébikotane, Senegal, between October 1967 and June 1969. From 1969 to 1974 he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in theology, except for the year 1971 which he spent at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem, where he obtained a licentiate in Sacred Scriptures.
