| Styles of Agnelo Rossi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Sabina e Poggio Mirteto (suburbicarian), Ostia (suburbicarian) |
Agnelo Rossi (bornAniello Rossi; 4 May 1913 – 21 May 1995) was a Braziliancardinal of the Roman Catholic Church anddean of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
Aniello (later changed to "Agnelo") Rossi was born on 4 May 1913 in Joaquim Egidio, in the municipality ofCampinas. Both his parents, Vincenzo Rossi e Vittoria Colombo, were Italian immigrants from the village ofLagonegro.[1][2]
In 1933 he left his Brazilian home for Rome. There he studied at the Pontifical CollegePio Brasileiro and thePontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained a priest on 27 March 1937 in thePatriarchal Lateran Basilica byLuigi Traglia, Vicegerent of Rome.[3]
Rossi subsequently met duties in Brazil, as secretary to the Bishop of Campinas for one year and as faculty member of the Central Seminary of São Paulo and the faculty of economic science of theUniversity of Campinas. He was canon of the cathedral chapter of Campinas in 1943–1956.
In 1956 Rossi was appointed Bishop of Barra do Piraí within the metropolitan district ofRio de Janeiro. Paulo de Tarso Campos, bishop of his home diocese Campinas, consecrated him in the same year. Rossi was named Archbishop ofRibeirão Preto in 1962. Two years later he was transferred to theArchiepiscopal see of São Paulo, which he held until 1970.
In theconsistory of 1965 Rossi was createdCardinal-Priest byPope Paul VI, and he received the title ofGran Madre di Dio. In 1970 he was appointed Prefect of theSacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the recently renamedSacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide.[4]: 18 He participated in the twoconclaves of 1978 (I,II).[5][6]
The Congregation for the Evangelization of People's 1978Faculties and Privileges Granted to Clergy and Catholics Living in Mainland China in These Grave Circumstances was issued during Rossi's tenure.[4]: 29 To address a lack of priests and bishopsin China whom the Vatican deemed legitimate, the document relaxed various requirements regarding the administration of thesacraments, theordination of priests, and how priests could perform their duties.[4]: 30–31
In 1984 he was promoted toCardinal Bishop of Sabina e Poggio Morteto byPope John Paul II; two years later he received the title ofBishop of Ostia in addition, becoming Dean of theCollege of Cardinals.He was President of theAdministration of the Patrimony of the Holy See from 1984 to 1989.[7]
He resigned as president in 1989 and as Dean in 1993; because he ceased to be Dean, he gave up the title of Bishop of Ostia. He subsequently returned to Brazil. Cardinal Rossi died on 21 May 1995 inCampinas.[8]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dean of the College of Cardinals 19 December 1986 – 31 May 1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of theAdministration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See 8 April 1984 – 6 December 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian as Prefect | Prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples 22 October 1970 – 8 April 1984 | Succeeded by Dermot Ryan as Pro-Prefect |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of São Paulo 1 November 1964 – 22 October 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Ribeirão Preto 6 September 1962 – 1 November 1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Barra do Piraí-Volta Redonda 5 March 1956 – 6 September 1962 | Succeeded by |
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