Cardinal Angelo Amato, who died at the age of 86 on 31 December (Ansa)
He passed away on the evening of Tuesday 31 December at the age of 86 Cardinal Angelo Amatoprefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, a role that was entrusted to him on 9 July 2008 by Benedict XVI calling him to succeed Cardinal José Saraiva Martins.
Amato was created cardinal in the consistory of 20 November 2010 by Ratzinger and participated in the conclave of March 2013 who elected Pope Francis. On 19 December 2013, Pope Francis confirmed him “donec aliter provideatur” as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, a position he left in 2018 just before turning 80.
Apulian by origin – he was born in Molfetta (Bari), 8 June 1938 from a family of shipbuilders, the first of four children – Cardinal Amato had undertaken his studies at the Nautical Institute of Bari, in the section of long-serving captains. But at the beginning of the third year of studies, in October 1953, he decided to abandon this career to enter the Salesian aspirantate of Torre Annunziata. In 1956, he made his first religious profession. Having moved to Rome, he studied at the then Pontifical Salesian University (now the Salesian Pontifical University), obtaining a license in philosophy.
In 1962 he made his perpetual religious profession, starting to carry out two years of practical training at the Salesian college in Cisternino (Brindisi), where he teaches literature in middle school. After obtaining a licentiate in theology from the theology faculty of the Salesian University in Rome, he was ordained a priest on 22 December 1967.
Having enrolled at the Pontifical Gregorian University, he obtained a doctorate in theology in 1974 and was immediately called to teach the subject. In 1977 he was sent to Greece since then Secretariat for Christian Unity, spending four months in the Athenian residence of the Jesuits for linguistic preparation in view of enrolling in university. After passing the entrance exam (written and spoken modern Greek), he moved to Thessaloniki as a scholarship holder of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. He resides at the Monì Vlatadon (Vlatadon Monastery), home to the convent of Orthodox monks and the Idrima ton Paterikon Meleton (Institute of Patristic Studies), with a library specializing in Orthodox theology and a precious collection of microfilms of the Mount Athos manuscripts.
He then enrolled in the theology faculty of the University of Thessaloniki, following the lessons on the history of dogmas by Jannis Kaloghirou and those on systematic dogmatics by Jannis Romanidis. At the same time he conducted research on the sacrament of penance in Greek Orthodox theology from the 16th to the 20th century, which was published in the series «Análekta Vlatádon» (1982). Tborn in Rome, he teaches Christology in the theology faculty of the Pontifical Salesian University, of which he was dean from 1981 to 1987 and from 1994 to 1999.
In the years 1997-2000 he was also vice-rector of the same University. In 1988 he was sent to Washington to study the theology of religions and to complete the Christology manual.
So he is nominated consultant of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, of the Pontifical Councils for the promotion of Christian Unity and for Interreligious Dialogue, and councilor of the Pontifical International Marian Academy.
In 1999 he was appointed prelate secretary of the restructured Pontifical Academy of Theology and director of the newly created theological magazine «Path». From 1996 to 2000 he was part of the theological-historical commission of the great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Appointed on 19 December 2002 secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he received episcopal consecration on 6 January 2003 from Pope John Paul II in the Vatican Basilica.
In November 2013, Cardinal Amato closed in the Molfetta Cathedral the diocesan phase of the beatification and canonization process of Don Tonino Bello. “Freedom of thought and action, the valorization of the laity, education for young people, the value of peace, love towards others, consideration of the poor – states the cardinal – are the teachings” of Don Tonino, bishop of Molfetta from 1982 to 1986. His testimony – Cardinal Amato had underlined – tells us that «holiness is not a privilege of the few, but a vocation for all, because we are all called to follow “Jesus and the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity”».
The bishop of Molfetta, Monsignor Domenico Cornacchiatogether with the entire Diocese, remembered “with profound gratitude” Cardinal Amato as a “man of faith and tireless pastor, who served the universal Church and the people of God with great dedication”.
