Cardinal Péter Erdő was born in Budapest on 25 June 1952, the first of six children in a family of Catholic intellectuals. He was ordained a priest on 18 June 1975 in Budapest. After serving as vice-parish priest in Dorog between 1975 and 1977, he continued his studies in Rome at the Institutum Utriusque Iuris of the Pontifical Lateran University, obtaining a doctorate in Canon Law in 1980. He had previously obtained a doctorate in theology in 1976. His academic career saw him professor of Theology at Esztergom (1980-1986) and professor, first in charge then invited, at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1986-2002). He taught Canon Law (1988-2002) and was Rector of the Péter Pázmány Catholic University (1998-2003), during which time the university obtained a pontifical foundation and opened a Faculty of Information Technology. He was also Dean of the Postgraduate Institute of Canon Law (1996-2003). On 5 November 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular Bishop of Puppi and auxiliary of the diocese of Székesfehérvár, and ordained him in St. Peter’s Basilica on 6 January 2000. On 7 December 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary. He was created and published Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the Consistory of 21 October 2003, receiving the title of St. Balbina. He has held important positions of ecclesial leadership, serving two terms as President of the Hungarian Bishops‘ Conference (2005-2015) and as President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) (2006-2016). He has participated in all assemblies of the Synod of Bishops since 2003, including special assemblies for Africa and the Middle East. He served as General Rapporteur at both the 3rd Extraordinary General Assembly (2014) and the 14th Ordinary General Assembly (2015) of the Synod of Bishops, both on the theme of the family. He was one of the initiators and co-presidents of the European Catholic-Orthodox Forum. His extensive scholarly output includes some 250 essays and twenty-five volumes in the field of canon law and its medieval history, as well as volumes on culture and spirituality. He has received numerous awards and honours, including honorary doctorates from various universities and the Galileo Galilei Prize. He participated in the conclaves of 2005, which elected Pope Benedict XVI, and 2013, which elected Pope Francis. He is currently a Member of several Dicasteries and of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.l