Ordination history of Eduardo Francisco Pironio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eduardo Francisco Pironio (3 December 1920 – 5 February 1998) was an ArgentineCatholic prelate who served in numerous departments of theRoman Curia from 1975 to 1996. He was named a cardinal in 1976 andCardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio in 1995.
Pironio died in 1998 and on 30 June 2006, theDiocese of Rome began requesting testimonies about his life and sanctity, opening his cause of canonization and bestowing upon him the posthumous titleServant of God.Pope Francis named him asVenerable on 18 February 2022. Pironio was beatified on 16 December 2023.
| Styles of Eduardo Pironio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Posthumous style | Servant of God |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Sabina-Poggio Mirteto |
Eduardo Pironio was born on 3 December 1920 inArgentina as the last of 22 children of José Pironio and Enriqueta Rosa Butazzoni, who had emigrated from Friuli, Italy.[1]
Months before his death, in an interview, he stated that: "I am the twenty-second child, the last born, and I have to recognize that the story is somewhat miraculous. ...When their first son was born, my mother was only 18 years old, and she became gravely ill. She was in bed for six months, unable to move. When she recovered, the doctors told her that she would not be able to have more children, and that if she did, her life would be in grave danger. She later gave birth to 21 more children – I am the last – and she lived to the age of 82."[2]
Pironio attended elementary school prior to moving into theseminary inLa Plata where he studied bothphilosophy andtheology. He continued his studies at the Pontifical Angelicum Athenaeum inRome where he attained a licentiate in theology.[1]
He was ordained on 5 December 1943 inArgentina byAnunciado Serafini. He served as a staff member of the Pío XII Seminary inMercedes from 1944 until 1959. Pironio served as the vicar general of theDiocese of Mercedes from 1959 until a year later, and he went on to serve as the rector of the Metropolitan Seminary of Villa Devoto from 1960 to 1964. He attended theSecond Vatican Council from 1962 to 1964 as an expert.[1]
On 24 March 1964,Pope Paul VI appointed himauxiliary bishop ofLa Plata andtitular bishop of Caeciri. He received hisepiscopal consecration on 31 May 1964 from Antonio José Plaza. He attended the later sessions of the Second Vatican Council in 1964 and 1965 as a bishop, no longer as an expert. In 1967, he was named to serve briefly as apostolic administrator of theAvellaneda.
Pironio served as the Secretary-General of theLatin American Episcopal Council from 1967 to 1972. He also attended theSynod of Bishops from 29 September to 29 October 1967, and later attended the Second General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate from 24 August to 6 September 1968 inColombia. He attended two additional synods in 1969 and in1971. Pironio was elected president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference in 1972,[3] served until 1974, and was confirmed for an extra year.
He was named the bishop ofMar del Plata on 19 April 1972. He preached the Lenten spiritual exercises for Pope Paul VI and theRoman Curia in 1974. On 20 September 1975 he was named pro-prefect of theCongregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life[3] and made titular archbishop of Thiges. He became prefect of that Congregation when he became a cardinal and held that office until 1984. Pironio also attended the synod of 1974 as a relator and as a member of its general secretariat.
In 24 May 1976, Pope Paul made him Cardinal-Deacon ofSanti Cosma e Damiano.[4] He participated in the synod of 1977 and served as a cardinal elector in the papal conclaves ofAugust andOctober 1978 that electedPope John Paul I andPope John Paul II. He was thought to be a possible candidate for election as pope in that year.[5] In 1979, he attended the Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate in Mexico, and later a synod in 1980 and 1983.
On 8 April 1984 Pope John Paul II named him president of thePontifical Council for the Laity. In that position, together with John Paul II, Pironio was a promoter of the firstWorld Youth Day.[3] He served at seven additional synods during the next decade. After ten years as a cardinal-deacon, he took the option of becoming acardinal-priest while retaining histitular church. On 11 July 1995 John Paul named him Cardinal-Bishop of thesuburbicarian see of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto.
Pironio attended the Fourth General Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Conference in 1992 in theDominican Republic and was appointed papal envoy to the 5th National Marian Congress inEcuador in 1992. He retired as president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 1996.
Pironio died in 1998 of bone cancer in Rome. John Paul II presided over the funeral rites with 27 cardinals also in attendance. His remains were taken to Buenos Aires and after a Mass presided over by CardinalAntonio Quarracino, his remains were buried in the left lateral altar of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján.
The approval to commence the cause was granted on 24 March 2006 – which granted him the posthumous titleServant of God – and commenced in Rome on 23 June 2006. On 28 June 2006 CardinalCamillo Ruini,Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, stated in an edict that "with the passing of years, his fame for sanctity has increased, and therefore it has been formally requested that we begin his cause of beatification and canonization".[2]
The Archdiocesan Tribunal ofBuenos Aires initiated theArgentine phase of the beatification process on 22 February 2007 and it heard the testimony of approximately thirty-three witnesses. The diocesan process concluded its work in Rome on 11 March 2016 and submitted its documentation to theCongregation for the Causes of Saints.
Pope Francis named Pironio "Venerable" after confirming that Pironio lived a life ofheroic virtue on 18 February 2022.
The postulator assigned was theBenedictine Giuseppe Tamburrino and the vice-postulator was Professor Beatriz Buzzetti.
The miracle required for beatification was brought to the attention of officials of the cause and the formal diocesan process for the investigation of the miracle commenced in 2008; it concluded in August 2014. Pironio was beatified on 16 December 2023 at theBasilica of Our Lady of Luján,Luján, Buenos Aires by CardinalFernando Vérgez Alzaga on behalf of Pope Francis.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Marcos Gregorio McGrath | Titular Bishop of Caeciri 24 March 1964 – 19 April 1972 | Succeeded by Heraldo Camilo A. Barotto |
| Preceded by | President of the Latin American Episcopal Council 1972–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Enrique Rau | Bishop of Mar del Plata 19 April 1972 – 20 September 1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Georg Moser | Titular Archbishop of Thiges 20 September 1975 – 24 May 1976 | Succeeded by Eugeen Laridon |
| Preceded by | Prefect for the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life 20 September 1975 – 8 April 1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano 24 May 1976 – 22 June 1987 | Succeeded by Himself as Cardinal-Priest |
| Preceded by | President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity 8 April 1984 – 20 August 1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers 16 February 1985 – 1 March 1989 | Succeeded by Fiorenzo Angelini |
| Preceded by Himself as Cardinal-Deacon | Cardinal-Deaconpro hac vice of Santi Cosma e Damiano 22 June 1987 – 11 July 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto 11 July 1995 – 2 February 1998 | Succeeded by |
