Gilberto Agustoni (26 July 1922 – 13 January 2017) was a Swiss prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He worked in the Roman Curia from 1950 to 1998, ending his career as head of the Apostolic Signatura from 1992 to 1998. He became a Cardinal in 1994.

Early life

Agustoni was born in

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimate ...

, Switzerland, and had four brothers and one sister. Two of his brothers were also priests. Their mother came from a village on the shores of Lake Constance and their father was a civil servant. He was educated at the Seminary of Lugano. He studied in Rome for a year, earning a degree in philosophy. Because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he continued his studies at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisi ...

, where he completed a degree in sacred theology. Bishop Angelo Jelmini ordained him in Lugano on 20 April 1946. Agustoni later studied at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'' and the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pont ...

in Rome, where he earned licentiates in theology and law.

Roman Curia appointments

In 1950, Cardinal

Alfredo Ottaviani Alfredo Ottaviani (29 October 1890 – 3 August 1979) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII named him cardinal in 1953. He served as secretary of the Holy Office in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1966 when that dicaste ...

asked Jelmini to allow Agustoni, whom he had met on several occasions, to work in the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

(CDF) while continuing his studies. Agustoni began his service there on 1 July 1950, an exceptional appointment for someone under the age of 30. He became the head of a department at the CDF and later commissioner at the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments. Following the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

he helped to coordinate the curial departments engaged in Pope Paul VI's program of liturgical renewal. In May 1970, he became a Prelate Auditor of the Tribunal of the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota ( la, Tribunal Apostolicum Rotae Romanae), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin-r ...

. On 18 December 1986

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 Agustoni

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Caprulae and Secretary of the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

. On 2 April 1992 he was appointed Pro-Prefect of Apostolic Signatura, becoming Prefect when 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 ...

of Santi Urbano e Lorenzo a Prima Porta on 26 November 1994. He resigned his post on 5 October 1998. In early 2005, he took the option, open to Cardinal-Deacons after ten years, of becoming a

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 ...

. Agustoni died on 13 January 2017 aged 94.

Ottaviani Intervention

He was secretary to Ottaviani at the time of the Ottaviani Intervention. Jean Madiran, a critic of the reforms of Vatican II and founder-editor of the French journal ''Itinéraires'', claimed that this letter was fraudulently presented to the elderly and already blind cardinal for his signature by his secretary Agustoni, and that Agustoni resigned shortly afterwards. No confirmation of this story by the cardinal himself was published. Agustoni resigned as Ottaviani's secretary in 1970 to join the Ecclesiastical Magistrature as Prelate Auditor of the Tribunal of the

and there is no evidence to suggest his departure was anything more than a routine change of assignment. Furthermore, Madiran admits that he was not in the room to see this alleged deception of Ottaviani.The Ottaviani Intervention – Part 1
by Michael Davies

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Agustoni, Gilberto 1922 births 2017 deaths People from Schaffhausen Swiss Roman Catholics Swiss cardinals Prefects of the Apostolic Signatura Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Pontifical Lateran University alumni Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Burials at the Cimitero Flaminio Swiss expatriates in Italy