Alberto Bovone (11 June 1922 – 17 April 1998) was an Italian Cardinal 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 served as

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

from 1995 until his death, and was elevated to the

cardinalate 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 ...

in 1998. Alberto Bovone was born in

Frugarolo Frugarolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Frugarolo borders the following municipalities: Alessandria, Bosco Mar ...

, and attended the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in Alessandria.

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 ...

to the priesthood on 26 May 1945, he then did pastoral work for a year before continuing his studies from 1946 until 1951 at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(where he obtained his doctorate in canon law). Bovone entered the Roman Curia as an official of the Congregation for the Council in October 1951, and was later made

Undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

of 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 ...

on 21 May 1973.

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 ...

named him

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 '' Caesarea in Numidia'' on 5 April 1984 and

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three days later, on 8 April. Bovone received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on the following 12 May from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, with Bishop Ferdinando Maggioni and Archbishop Luigi Dadaglio serving as co-consecrators. Bovone was the first person ordained as a Bishop by Ratzinger, who would become

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

. As Secretary of the Doctrine of the Faith, he was the second-highest official of that

dicastery A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia. ''Pastor bonus'' ''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition: ''Praed ...

, under Cardinal Ratzinger. In 1987, he helped write the instruction Donum Vitae on the respect for human life. Bovone was later appointed to head the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints on 13 June 1995. As he had yet to be raised to 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 app ...

, he only held the title of Pro-Prefect of the congregation, until John Paul II created him Cardinal- Deacon of '' Ognissanti in Via Appia Nuova'' in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of 21 February 1998, and Bovone became full Prefect of the Causes of the Saints two days later, on 23 February. The Cardinal died in Rome two months later, at the age of 75. He is buried in his family's plot in

External links

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bovone, Alberto 1922 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Italian cardinals 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II People from Frugarolo