Card Sodano was called in Rome at the age of 94 following contracting the coronavirus and spending a period of time in hospital. Card Sodano has led the Vatican’s diplomatic work for fifteen years as Holy See Secretary of State, dedicated to international good offices and peace initiatives. In his message of condolence, Pope Francis remembered Cardinal Sodano’s years of service in the Holy See: he was a disciplined and dedicated pastor.
(Vatican News Network)Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state for the two Popes, John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, and head emeritus of the College of Cardinals, passed away on May 27 at the age of 94. Card Sodano was hospitalized on May 9 this year for Covid-19. “I have also benefited greatly from his intelligence and heart, especially during his tenure as head of the College of Cardinals,” Pope Francis wrote in his condolence message following learning of the cardinal’s death.
In the message of condolence, the pontiff expressed “thank you to the Lord for the gift of this widely admired person of the Church” and praised the late cardinal for his “generous fulfillment of his priestly duties”. Card Sodano held “a number of important positions” in Vatican diplomacy, even taking on “the difficult duties of Secretary of State of the Holy See” between 1991 and 2006. Card Sodano has been promoting “dialogue and reconciliation” in the delegations of the Holy See to Ecuador, Uruguay and Chile with “full energy”. “In the Holy See of Rome he carried out his mission with exemplary zeal”, “showing in every office that he was a disciplined churchman, a beloved pastor, wholeheartedly eager to spread the leaven of the Gospel to everywhere”.
Card Sodano was born on November 23, 1927 in Piedmont, Italy, into a family that made an outstanding contribution to the life of the Church and the country. His father was an Italian MP from 1948 to 1963. As a young Sodano, following completing his theological and philosophical training in the diocese seminary, he obtained a double degree in Rome: a master’s degree in theology of the Pontifical Gregorian University and a master’s degree in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University.
Sodano was ordained a priest on September 23, 1950, and subsequently taught dogmatic theology and performed apostolic work among young students. In 1959, Cardinal Angelo dell’Acqua, then undersecretary of the Holy See, called him to serve the Holy See. Sodano studied at the Holy See Diplomatic Academy before being sent to serve at the Holy See embassies in countries such as Ecuador, Uruguay and Chile. In 1968, Sodano returned to Rome, where he served on the Public Affairs Committee of the Holy See. He is also a member of the embassies of the Holy See to Romania, Hungary and East Germany.
On November 30, 1977, Pope Sodano was appointed ambassador of the Holy See to Chile by Pope Paul VI, promoted to archbishop, and ordained on January 15 of the following year. Sodano has worked diligently for ten years in this Latin American country, visiting almost all the dioceses, and participating in the Holy See’s mediation between Chile and Argentina with great success. Pope Saint John Paul II called Sodano in 1988 to succeed Card Achille Silvestrini, then secretary of the public affairs committee of the Holy See. A year later, the Pontifical Charter of the Good Shepherd came into force, and Sodano’s title was changed to Secretary General of the Holy See State Department for Relations with States, and in particular to head the Holy See Commission on Russian Affairs.
Sodano has represented the Holy See at international conferences, such as the Foreign Ministerial Conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In December 1990, Sodano assumed the post of Secretary of State of the Holy See, and on 29 June 1991, the day following his promotion to Cardinal, he officially became Secretary of State of the Holy See. In 2002, Cardinal Sodano was elected Deputy Head of the College of Cardinals, and in 1994 and 2005 received the titles of Albano and Ostia, two suburban parishes of Rome.
Card Sodano participated in the 2005 Election Papal Conference in which Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope. As soon as Pope Ratzinger ascended the papal throne, on April 30, 2005, Cardinal Sodano was confirmed to continue as Secretary of State of the Holy See and approved the results of his election as head of the College of Cardinals. Previously, the head of the College of Cardinals happened to be Cardinal Ratzinger. A few months later, the Pope accepted Sodano’s resignation as Holy See Secretary of State, who was succeeded by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. In 2019, Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Sodano’s request to resign as head of the College of Cardinals. Before he stepped down as head of the College of Cardinals, Pope Francis appointed him to participate in the third extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops in 2014 and the fourteenth regular session of the Synod of Bishops in 2015, both on the theme of the family.
Due to Cardinal Sodano’s death, the membership of the College of Cardinals has been reduced to 208, of which 117 cardinals have the right to elect the Pope, and 91 cardinals are exempt from election duties because they are over 80 years old.
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