Agnelo Rossi (4 May 1913 – 21 May 1995) was a Brazilian

cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

and dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals.

Biography

Rossi was born on 4 May 1913 in Joaquim Egidio,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in the Diocese of

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's population is 1,213,792, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian ...

. In 1933 he left his Brazilian home for Rome. There he studied at the Pontifical College ''Pio Brasileiro'' and the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He was ordained a priest on 27 March 1937 in the Patriarchal Lateran Basilica by

Luigi Traglia Luigi Traglia (3 April 1895 – 22 November 1977) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vicar General of Rome from 1965 to 1968, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1974 until his death. Traglia was elevated to ...

, Vicegerent of Rome. Rossi subsequently met duties in Brazil, as secretary to the Bishop of Campinas for one year and as faculty member of the Central Seminary of São Paulo and the faculty of economic science of the University of Campinas. He was canon of the cathedral chapter of Campinas in 1943–1956. In 1956 Rossi was appointed Bishop of Barra do Piraí within the metropolitan district of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. Paulo de Tarso Campos, bishop of his home diocese Campinas, consecrated him in the same year. Rossi was named Archbishop of Ribeirão Preto in 1962. Two years later he was transferred to the Archiepiscopal see of São Paulo, which he held until 1970. In the consistory of 1965 Rossi was created Cardinal-Priest by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

, and he received the title of ''

Gran Madre di Dio Gran Madre di Dio (Great Mother of God) is a cardinal's titular church in Rome. Its current holder is Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa, who was created a cardinal on 24 November 2007. The church was established as a titular church in 1965. The ...

''. In 1970 he was appointed Prefect of the

Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

, the recently renamed ''Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide''. He participated in the two conclaves of 1978 ( I, II). In 1984 he was promoted to Cardinal Bishop of Sabina e Poggio Morteto by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

; two years later he received the title of

Bishop of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since 11 ...

in addition, becoming Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was President of the

Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; it, Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, link=no) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the fund ...

from 1984 to 1989. He resigned as president in 1989 and as Dean in 1993; because he ceased to be Dean, he gave up the title of Bishop of Ostia. He subsequently returned to Brazil. Cardinal Rossi died on 21 May 1995 in

Sources

Catholic Hierarchy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Agnelo 1913 births 1995 deaths Deans of the College of Cardinals Brazilian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Cardinal-bishops of Sabina 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Brazilian people of Italian descent Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Campinas Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Roman Catholic archbishops of Ribeirão Preto Roman Catholic archbishops of São Paulo Roman Catholic bishops of Barra do Piraí-Volta Redonda

Biography

See also

Sources

References