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Alberto Bovone

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Alberto Bovone
Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
Appointed13 June 1995
Term ended17 April 1998
PredecessorAngelo Felici
SuccessorJosé Saraiva Martins
Other post(s)Cardinal-Deacon of Ognissanti in Via Appia Nuova (1998)
Previous post(s)Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1973-1984)
Titular Archbishop of Cesarea in Numidia (1984-1998)
Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1984-1995)
Orders
Ordination26 May 1945
by Giuseppe Angrisani
Consecration12 May 1984
by Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Created cardinal21 February 1998
by Pope John Paul II
RankCardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Born
Alberto Bovone

11 June 1922
Died17 April 1998(1998-04-17) (aged 75)
Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic, Rome, Italy
Alma materPontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas
MottoFidelis et prudens
("Faithful and prudent")
Coat of armsAlberto Bovone's coat of arms
Styles of
Alberto Bovone
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
Seenone

Alberto Bovone (11 June 1922 – 17 April 1998) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1995 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1998.[1]

Alberto Bovone was born in Frugarolo, and attended the seminary in Alessandria. Ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1945, he then did pastoral work for a year before continuing his studies from 1946 until 1951 at the University of Turin and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome (where he obtained his doctorate in canon law). Bovone entered the Roman Curia as an official of the Congregation for the Council in October 1951, and was later made Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 21 May 1973.

Pope John Paul II named him Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Numidia on 5 April 1984 and Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three days later, on 8 April. Bovone received his episcopal consecration on the following 12 May from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, with Bishop Ferdinando Maggioni and Archbishop Luigi Dadaglio serving as co-consecrators. Bovone was the first person ordained as a Bishop by Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict XVI.

As Secretary of the Doctrine of the Faith, he was the second-highest official of that dicastery, under Cardinal Ratzinger. In 1987, he helped write the instruction Donum vitae on the respect for human life.[2]

Bovone was later appointed to head the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints on 13 June 1995. As he had yet to be raised to the College of Cardinals, he only held the title of Pro-Prefect of the congregation, until John Paul II created him Cardinal- Deacon of Ognissanti in Via Appia Nuova in the consistory of 21 February 1998, and Bovone became full Prefect of the Causes of the Saints two days later, on 23 February.[3]

The Cardinal died in Rome two months later, at the age of 75. He is buried in his family's plot in Frugarolo.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ III, Harris M. Lentz (2015-07-11). Popes and Cardinals of the 20th Century: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4766-2155-5.
  2. ^ Reese, Thomas J. (1992). A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 262. ISBN 978-1-55612-557-7.
  3. ^ "Alberto Bovone, Italian Cardinal, 75". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1998-04-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
[edit]
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
5 April 1984 – 13 June 1995
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
13 June 1995 – 17 April 1998
Succeeded by