Cardinal Canestri dies at 96
April 30, 2015
Cardinal Giovanni Canestri, who served as archbishop of Genoa from 1987 to 1995, has died at the age of 96.
Born in 1918, Cardinal Canestri was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Rome in 1941. St. John XXIII appointed him auxiliary bishop of Rome in 1961. As a bishop, he took part in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council.
Blessed Paul VI appointed him bishop of Tortona (1971) and viceregent of the Diocese of Rome (1975), granting him the title of archbishop. St. John Paul II appointed him archbishop of Cagliari (1984) and archbishop of Genoa (1987) and created him a cardinal in the consistory of 1988.
At the time of his death, Cardinal Canestri was the 2nd-oldest member of the College of Cardinals. (The oldest, Cardinal Loris Capovilla, is 99.)
With the death of Cardinal Canestri, there are now 222 members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 120 are eligible to participate in a papal election.
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Posted by: Cincinnatus -
May. 01, 2015 5:40 AM ET USA
Interesting error in your Card. Canestri obit. He was "vicegerent," not "viceregent." "Vicegerent" is a (very) little-used term (almost unique to the Diocese of Rome), but an important job--number two official, after Cardinal Vicar, in the "Vicariate" administering the Diocese for the Pope. From Latin "vice"(abl.)="stead" as in "instead of" and "gerere" "to manage." Same root as English "suggest," "gesture" and "digest"! "Viceregent" (read "Viceroy") is something else: "ruler" not "manager."
