Pietro Parolin

Pietro Parolin (born 17 January 1955) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as the Vatican's Secretary of State since 2013, and has served as a member of the Council of Cardinals since 2014, the same year he was made a cardinal.

Before his tenure as secretary of state, Parolin worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See for 30 years, where his assignments included terms in Nigeria, Mexico and Venezuela, as well as more than six years as Undersecretary of State for Relations with States. Parolin set the Vatican's foreign policy stances under Pope Francis. Parolin was one of the primary architects of the Vatican's 2018 agreement with China, which allows the pope to approve and veto bishops approved by the Chinese Communist Party. During the 2025 conclave, over which he presided as the senior voting cardinal bishop, Parolin was considered papabile, a leading candidate to succeed Francis, and was reportedly the runner-up on the final ballot that elected Pope Leo XIV.