Carlo Furno (2 December 1921 – 9 December 2015) was an Italian

cardinal of the 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 ...

Early life and career

Furno was born in Bairo,

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, in 1921. He was educated at the diocesan College at Ivrea and later at the Seminary of Ivrea, where he studied philosophy and theology. He was sent to the Theological Faculty, Crocetto Salesian Athenaeum in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, (1948–1949) and later the

Pontifical Roman Seminary , type = Major seminary , established = , founder = Pope Pius IV , parent = Diocese of Rome , religious_affiliation = Catholic Church , rector = Gabriele Fara ...

, Rome where he took a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, (1953). Furno was summoned to the elite Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Rome from 1951 to 1953 where he took practical courses in diplomacy. After his priestly ordination on 25 June 1944Vicariatus Urbis
and six years of pastoral work in his home diocese, he began a career in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. He worked in a subordinate role in Colombia, Ecuador and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and then in the Secretariat of State. Following these assignments and episcopal consecration on 16 September 1973, he served as

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

(Papal Ambassador) successively to Peru, Lebanon, Brazil and Italy.

Cardinal

He was created

Cardinal-Deacon 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 ...

Sacro Cuore di Cristo Re Sacro Cuore di Cristo Re is a Roman Catholic church (minor basilica) in Rome, designed between the 1920s and 1930s by Marcello Piacentini. History The idea for a new church in the newly developed ''Quartiere della Vittoria'' (literally ''Dis ...

on 26 November 1994. After ten years he opted to become

Cardinal Priest 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 ...

of that church. From 2005 until his death in late 2015 he was Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio, in recognition that the church is the Order's headquarters after the 15 August 1948,

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

establishing that the Order's headquarters should be transferred from Jerusalem to Rome.

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 ...

appointed him Grand Master of the

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

on 16 December 1995. The aforementioned Order, like the Knights of Malta, is a member of many international bodies and has observer status at others (such as the United Nations). Cardinal Furno resigned this office in June 2007 and was succeeded by American Archbishop John Patrick Foley, who had been serving as the President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, an important department of the Roman Curia. Cardinal Furno died on 9 December 2015 at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furno, Carlo 1921 births 2015 deaths People from the Province of Turin 21st-century Italian cardinals 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to Brazil Pontifical Roman Seminary alumni Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Apostolic Nuncios to Peru Apostolic Nuncios to Italy Apostolic Nuncios to San Marino Apostolic Nuncios to Lebanon Grand Masters of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre