Protopriest — in the College of Cardinals

College of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...

, is the first Cardinal-Priest in the order of precedence. This title is always attached to the most senior Cardinal Priest according to date of his creation. From the 17th century until the end of 19th century Protopriest usually opted for the titulus San Lorenzo in Lucina

San Lorenzo in Lucina

The Church of St Lawrence's at Lucina is a Roman Catholic parish and titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, dedicated to Saint Lawrence, Roman deacon and martyr. The name Lucina comes from the Roman matron owner of the house on which the church was built.The current Cardinal Priest of...

. The current Protopriest is Brazilian cardinal Eugênio de Araújo Sales

Eugênio de Araújo Sales

Eugênio de Araújo Sales is, as of 2011, the longest-serving cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, having been elevated by Pope Paul VI on April 28, 1969. He served as archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro for thirty years until his resignation was accepted in 2001, when he had already...

.

Protopriests since 1945

• Dennis Dougherty
  Dennis Joseph Dougherty
  Dennis Joseph Dougherty was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1918 until his death in 1951, and was created a cardinal in 1921.-Early life and education:...
  
  , 1945 — 1951;
• Giovanni Nasalli Rocca
  Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano
  Giovanni Battista Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Bologna from 1921 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1923.-Biography:...
  
  , 1951 — 1952;
• Michael von Faulhaber, 1952;
• Pedro Segura y Sáenz
  Pedro Segura y Sáenz
  Pedro Segura y Sáenz was a Spanish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Toledo from 1927 to 1931, and Archbishop of Seville from 1937 until his death...
  
  , 1952 — 1954;
• Ildefonso Schuster
  Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster
  Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, O.S.B. was a Benedictine monk and Cardinal Archbishop of Milan during World War II...
  
   O.S.B.
  Order of Saint Benedict
  The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
  
  , 1954 — 1957;
• Alessandro Verde
  Alessandro Verde
  Alessandro Verde was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal and former Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore....
  
  , 1957 — 1958;
• Jozef-Ernest van Roey
  Jozef-Ernest van Roey
  Jozef-Ernest van Roey was a Belgian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mechelen from 1926 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1927.-Biography:...
  
  , 1958 — 1961;
• Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira
  Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira
  Dom Manuel II Gonçalves Cerejeira, GCC was a Portuguese cardinal, who served as cardinal-patriarch of Lisbon, from 1929 to 1971...
  
  , 1961 — 1977;
• Norman Thomas Gilroy, 1977;
• Josef Frings, 1977 — 1978;
• Antonio Caggiano, 1978 — 1979;
• Carlos Vasconcellos Motta
  Carlos Carmelo Vasconcellos Motta
  Carlos Carmelo Vasconcellos Motta was a long-serving cardinal...
  
  , 1979 — 1982;
• Giuseppe Siri, 1982 — 1989;
• Franz König
  Franz König
  Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958...
  
  , 1989 — 2004;
• Stephen Kim
  Stephen Kim Sou-hwan
  Stephen Kim Sou-hwan was a senior Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the former Archbishop of Seoul, South Korea...
  
  , 2004 — 2009;
• Eugênio Sales, 2009 — present;