In God's Name! Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, President of Vatican Bank

Paul Marcinkus was born in Cicero, Illinois, the son of Lithuanian immigrants and the youngest of five children. His father worked as a window cleaner, among other occupations.

After attending Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Marcinkus was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 3, 1947, and served parish assignments with both St. Christina's and Holy Cross Church on the city's south side. By 1949, he had been appointed to the archdiocese's matrimonial tribunal, which processed petitions to recognize the nullity of putatively valid marriages.

International career
In 1950, Marcinkus began to fulfil special assignments for the Holy See and became friendly with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, later Pope Paul VI, while studying canon law at the Gregorian University. Upon earning his degree in 1953, he completed the two-year program for prospective diplomats at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and was assigned to Bolivia in 1955 and to Canada four years later, serving as secretary in the nunciature of the Holy See in both instances.

Beginning in December 1959, he worked at the Secretariat of State in Rome and served on occasion as an interpreter for Pope John XXIII and as an English translator for Pope Paul VI. Under Paul VI, he helped manage arrangements for papal overseas trips. His height and muscular build served him well as an "informal bodyguard" for Paul VI, earning him the nickname "The Papón". On January 6, 1969, he received his episcopal consecration as titular Bishop of Horta.

Vatican Bank and Vatican City State
Pope Paul VI appointed Marcinkus secretary of the Vatican Bank in 1968. He was named its president in 1971 at the age of 48, serving in that role until 1989. Although an able administrator, Marcinkus had no prior experience as a banker. Upon his initial appointment to the Vatican Bank, he underwent brief training and short (of days-to-weeks) observational periods at several financial institutions.

In July 1982, Marcinkus was implicated in financial scandals being reported on the front pages of newspapers and magazines throughout Europe, particularly the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano, in which Propaganda Due (aka "P2"), a Masonic Lodge, was involved. Marcinkus had been a director of Ambrosiano Overseas, based in Nassau, Bahamas, and had been involved with Ambrosiano's chairman, financier Roberto Calvi, for a number of years. He also was involved with Michele Sindona, who had links with the Mafia.

The scandal widened, after the body of Roberto Calvi, whose Banco Ambrosiano had dealt with Marcinkus, was found hanging under London's Blackfriars Bridge in June 1982. Marcinkus himself was never charged with a crime.

Marcinkus stepped aside as head of the Vatican Bank in June 1989, with a board of laymen assuming control of the bank. He was then made president of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

Opus Dei (Latin for 'Work of God') is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially recognized within the Catholic Church, although its status has evolved. It received final approval by the Catholic Church in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Pope John Paul II made it a personal prelature in 1982 by the apostolic constitution Ut sit. While Opus Dei has received support from the Catholic Church, it is considered controversial.

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