Leonardo Cardinal Sandri (born November 18, 1943 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) became a priest of Buenos Aires on December 2, 1967.
In 1997, he was ordained Titular Archbishop of Aemona as well as appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Venezula. During his time as bishop he selected the motto “Ille Fidelis” which means, “He (Christ) remains faithful.”
Three years later, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico. He fought against Christian emigration from the Holy Land saying, "This lack of peace makes Christians emigrate and leave their land behind. So we're left with a purely geological, physical presence of Jesus, and not with the presence of those that grew with him and lived his faith, and that continue to follow him today like disciples of his very homeland."
In 2007, he became the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and Cardinal-Deacon of S. Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari (December 2, 2007).
