Robert Sarah

His Eminence Robert Sarah
Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Sarah in 2015
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Appointed	23 November 2014
Term ended	20 February 2021
Predecessor	Antonio Cañizares Llovera
Successor	Arthur Roche
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest 'pro hac vice' of San Giovanni Bosco in Via Tuscolana (2021–present)
Previous post(s)	Archbishop of Conakry (1979–2001) Apostolic Administrator of Kankan (1979–93) President of the Guinean Episcopal Conference (1985–2001) Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (2001–10) Vice-Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University (2001–10) President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum (2010–14)
Orders
Ordination	20 July 1969 by Raymond-Maria Tchidimbo
Consecration	8 December 1979 by Giovanni Benelli
Created cardinal	20 November 2010 by Benedict XVI
Rank	Cardinal-Deacon (2010–21) Cardinal-Priest (2021–present)
Personal details
Born	Robert Sarah (1945-06-15) 15 June 1945 (age 79) Ourous, French Guinea
Nationality	Guinean
Denomination	Catholic (Roman Rite)
Alma mater	Pontifical Gregorian University Studium Biblicum Franciscanum
Motto	Latin: Sufficit tibi gratia mea, lit. 'My grace is sufficient for thee'[1]
Coat of arms

Styles of Robert Sarah
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal

Robert Sarah (French: [ʁɔbɛʁ saʁa]; born 15 June 1945) is a Guinean Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 23 November 2014 to 20 February 2021. He previously served as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples under Pope John Paul II and president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum under Pope Benedict XVI. He was made a cardinal in 2010.

A conservative, Sarah has been a vocal advocate for the defense of traditional Catholic teaching on questions of sexual morality and the right to life, and in denouncing Islamic radicalism. He has called gender ideology and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) the "two radicalizations" that threaten the family, the former through divorce, same-sex marriage, and abortion, and the latter with child marriage, polygamy, and the subjugation of women.^[2][3]

Sarah has been described as largely sympathetic to liturgical practices prior to the Second Vatican Council but also proposed that partisans of different liturgies learn from each other and seek a middle ground. In 2016, Sarah called for priests to face the same direction as the congregation while celebrating Mass (ad orientem), although facing the congregation had become the prevailing practice since the Second Vatican Council. His advice was seen by some as a direct challenge to Pope Francis, a claim that Sarah rejected.

Sarah has been mentioned as papabile, a possible candidate for the papacy, by international media outlets such as Le Monde and by Catholic publications including Crux and the Catholic Herald.