Christoph Schönborn

Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert, Count of Schönborn, O.P. (German: Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert, Graf von Schönborn; born 22 January 1945), is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna and President of the Austrian Bishops' Conference. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1998. He is also the chaplain of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Austrian branch), of which he has been a member since 1961. He is a member of the formerly sovereign princely House of Schönborn, several members of which held high offices of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church.

Schönborn was seen as a leading candidate for the papacy because he is conservative, albeit a "balanced reformer" who is well liked by all factions of the church and noted for his tolerant views, diplomatic skills and openness to dialogue. In particular, he is recognized for his ability to mediate between the conservative and reformist wings of the Church. Schönborn has travelled widely and is well known in the Catholic Church globally for editing the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He is a former student of Pope Benedict XVI and a close confidant, ally and long-time friend, who has been called Benedict's "spiritual son." According to John L. Allen, Schönborn was among the "kingmakers" when Benedict was elected Pope in 2005. Born in Skalken in Bohemia and growing up in Schruns next to the Swiss border, he has German Bohemian, Czech, Austrian, Hungarian, Italian and Irish ancestry. He descends from many prominent families of Bohemia as well as royal families such as the House of Savoy-Carignano. Schönborn studied in France, was a professor for several years in Fribourg, Switzerland, and speaks seven languages: beside his native German also English, Italian, Spanish, French, Czech and Latin.