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Cardinal Renato Martino, longtime Vatican diplomat, dies at 91

October 29, 2024

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CWN Editor's Note: Cardinal Renato Martino, former president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (2002-09) and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (2005-09), has died at the age of 91.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1957, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1962, eventually serving as the Vatican’s representative in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, and Brunei.

As the Holy See’s permanent observer at the United Nations from 1986 to 2002, he played an important role in advocating for the defense of human life and other aspects of Catholic social teaching as the international body became increasingly influenced by pro-abortion forces. Pope St. John Paul II named him a cardinal in 2003.

From 2014 until his death, Cardinal Martino was the protodeacon, or senior cardinal deacon, in the College of Cardinals, the Vatican newspaper noted. With his death, there are now 233 living cardinals, 121 of whom are eligible to take part in a papal election.

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