Italian Cardinal Saldarini dead at 87

April 19, 2011

Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini, the former Archbishop of Turin, Italy, died on April 18 at the age of 86 after a long illness.

Ordained in 1947 in the Milan archdiocese, he was named an auxiliary bishop of Milan in 1984. In 1989 he became Archbishop of Turin, and in 1991 he was raised to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II. He was named by the same Pontiff to preach the annual Lenten Retreat for the Roman Curia in 1994.

During Cardinal Saldarini's tenure in Turin, the city's cathedral was seriously damaged by a fire that gutted the historic Guarini chapel in which the Shroud of Turin was kept. The Shroud itself was rescued from the flames, and was displayed as scheduled in an exposition in 1999. Cardinal Saldarini resigned the following year at the age of 74.

With the death of Cardinal Saldarini there are now 199 members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 115 are below the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a papal election.

 

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Further information:

• Décès du cardinal Saldarini (Vatican Radio)