Loris Francesco Capovilla (14 October 1915 – 26 May 2016) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and a cardinal. At his death, he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop from Italy and the fourth oldest in the world. At the time of his elevation to the rank of cardinal in 2014, he was the oldest member of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

. He served as the personal secretary to

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

from 1958 to 1963.

Biography

Early life and priesthood

Capovilla was born in

Pontelongo Pontelongo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southeast of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,853 and an area of .All demographic ...

in 1915 as the son of Rodolfo Capovilla and Letizia Callegaro. He had one sister: Lia. He was baptized in Pontelongo. His father later died in 1922 and this in turn led Capovilla to move to

Mestre Mestre () is a borough of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy. Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the ''Municipalità di ...

in 1929 following a period of precariousness and wandering. Capovilla studied at the Patriarchal Seminary of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and was later

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest of the

Archdiocese of Venice The Patriarchate of Venice ( la, Patriarchatus Venetiarum), also sometimes called the Archdiocese of Venice, is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or patriarchal archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Venice, Italy. In 1451 the Patriarchate ...

on 23 May 1940 by Cardinal Piazza, the

Patriarch of Venice The Patriarch of Venice ( la, Patriarcha Venetiarum; it, Patriarca di Venezia) is the ordinary bishop of the Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few patriarchs in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church (currently three other Latin ...

. He was made the capitular master of ceremonies in the Basilica of Saint Mark and also served as a catechist in middle schools. During

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 opposin ...

, Capovilla served in military aviation and later went on to become a Sunday preacher at Radio Venezia from 1945 to 1953. He was also made the director of the diocesan weekly La Voce di San Marco in 1949. He formed a close friendship with Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (later

) when the cardinal was the Patriarch of Venice. He commenced his service under Roncalli on 15 March 1953. He claimed, however, to have never called himself Roncalli's friend, but considered him his bishop, his father and his patriarch. He remained at Roncalli's side as papal secretary after Roncalli's election to the papacy in 1958 until his death in 1963. Capovilla served as Roncalli's conclavist at the conclave of 1958 that saw the latter's election. He was confirmed as the new pope's secretary on the night of the election and was made a

Domestic Prelate of His Holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing. After the death of John XXIII in 1963,

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 ...

appointed him as a prelate di anticamera and expert to the

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

Episcopate and cardinalate

Capovilla was appointed bishop of the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto on 26 June 1967 and consecrated on 16 July 1967 by

. The co-consecrators were Augusto Gianfranceshi and

Jacques-Paul Martin Jacques-Paul Martin (26 August 1908 – 27 September 1992) was a French Roman Catholic cardinal, raised to the cardinalate in 1988. Education and progression through the Church Martin received his education at the University of Strasbourg, w ...

. He chose as his motto the one used by Pope John XXIII. On 23 September 1971 he was appointed prelate to the Loreto Prelature and the Titular archbishop of Mesembria. His resignation from his position in Loreto was accepted on 10 December 1988. On 12 January 2014

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

announced that Capovilla would be elevated to the College of Cardinals on 22 February 2014. Capovilla said it was a "sign of attention to all those thousands of priests around the world who have spent their lives in silence, in poverty, in obedience, happy to serve God and our humble people, who need, as Pope Francis continually says, tenderness, friendship, respect and love." Capovilla received a dispensation and did not attend the consistory where he was named cardinal. He said: "I'm not strong enough and I feel uncomfortable at the thought of meeting so many people." He was named

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 ''

Santa Maria in Trastevere The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere); en, Our Lady in Trastevere) is a titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and ...

''. Cardinal

Angelo Sodano Angelo Raffaele Sodano, GCC (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and from 1991 on a cardinal. He was the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 ...

, the

Dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establ ...

, bestowed the biretta and cardinal's ring upon Capovilla on 1 March. He died in Bergamo on 26 May 2016.Loris Francesco Capovilla, Pope John’s Aide and ‘Spiritual Son,’ Dies at 100
/ref> For his entire cardinalate, he was the oldest living Cardinal. In 1964, he published a memoir, ''The Heart and Mind of John XXIII: His Secretary's Intimate Recollection'' (published by Hawthorn Books). As of 2013, he resided in

Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII Sotto il Monte ( lmo, label=Bergamasque, Sóta 'l Mut; "Under the Mountain"), officially Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, is a ''comune'' in northern Italy. Located in the Province of Bergamo in the Region of Lombardy, the town's official name, mu ...

, about northeast of Milan.

References

External links

Loris Francesco CapovillaLoreto Site

Chieti-Vasto Site
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Capovilla, Loris Francesco 1915 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Archbishops of Chieti Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinals created by Pope Francis 21st-century Italian cardinals Italian centenarians Men centenarians Regia Aeronautica personnel of World War II Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Biography

Early life and priesthood

Episcopate and cardinalate

See also

References

External links