Cardinal Raffaele Martino has died at the age of 91

By Vatican News

Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino died in the morning of 28 October in Rome. He as 91. He served as Cardinal Protodeacon, President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. 

Born in Salerno, Italy, on 23 November 1932, he was ordained a priest on 20 June 1957 and received his degree in Canon Law. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1962 and worked in the Apostolic Nunciatures of Nicaragua, the Philippines, Lebanon, Canada and Brazil. Between 1970 and 1975 he headed the Section for International Organisations in the Secretariat of State. In 1986 he was appointed Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York. In this capacity he actively participated in the major international conferences promoted by the UN.

After sixteen years at the United Nations in New York, John Paul II called him to lead the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on 1 October 2002. He succeeded French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray and Vietnamese Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân in this post. Already at the beginning of his mandate, Cardinal Martino turned his attention to the difficult situation in Venezuela and the serious civil conflict in Ivory Coast. He spoke out especially on the tragic situation in the Middle East.

John Paul II created him a cardinal in the Consistory of 21 October 2003. On 25 October 2004, the Dicastery he led published the long-awaited Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. In March 2005 the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, in collaboration with several Catholic university institutions, promoted an International Congress in the Vatican to mark the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes. Since 24 October 2009 he had as President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The Cardinal was awarded numerous honorary degrees and honours given his ongoing work in favour of peaceful and fruitful relations between peoples, the humanities and culture.

The funeral will be held on Wednesday, 30 October, at 3 p.m. at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica. The liturgy will be celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, together with cardinals, archbishops and bishops. At the conclusion of the celebration, Pope Francis will preside over the rites of Ultima Commendatio and Valedictio.

With the death of Cardinal Martino, the College of Cardinals consists of 233 cardinals, of which 121 are electors and 112 are non-electors.