by Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The day Pope Francis announced he would be making Italian Archbishop Luigi De Magistris a cardinal, the archbishop was doing what he usually did in retirement on Sundays: He was administering the sacrament of confession in the cathedral of Cagliari, his hometown. The cardinal-designate, who […]
By Lise Alves Catholic News Service SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Julio Duarte Langa, retired bishop of Xai-Xai, Mozambique, is best known for staying close to his congregation and always looking out for the poorest in his community. “He is a true pastor,” said Auxiliary Bishop Joao Hatoa Nunes of Maputo, Mozambique. “While others […]
By David Agren Catholic News Service MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Luis Hector Villalba of Tucuman, Argentina, was watching the Angelus prayer from the Vatican on television Jan. 4 when he heard Pope Francis — an old colleague and countryman — read his name as one of 20 new cardinals. He then went to the […]
By David Agren Catholic News Service. MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Daniel Sturla Berhouet of Montevideo, Uruguay, was ministering in a working-class barrio when he learned of his elevation to cardinal — circumstances not lost on Uruguayan church officials. The Jan. 4 announcement that the archbishop was one of 20 men who would be elevated […]
By Catholic News Service BANGKOK (CNS) — When Cardinal-designate Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok learned he would be elevated to cardinal, there was no formal announcement, no courier from Rome to tell him the news. Instead, a friend called to say he read a report on the Internet, reported the Asian Catholic news portal […]
By Patrick Downes Catholic News Service HONOLULU (CNS) — When Tonga’s future cardinal came to Hawaii as a priest in 2005 for the ordination of his cousin, one of the Tongan Catholic women hosting him wanted to buy him a pair of shoes. Then-Father Soane Mafi politely turned down the offer, preferring instead the sandals […]
By David Agren Catholic News Service MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Jose de Jesus Pimiento Rodriguez, retired archbishop of Manizales, Colombia, will be the oldest of 20 men elevated to cardinal Feb. 14. The cardinal-designate, who will turn 96 Feb. 18, was ordained a priest Dec. 14, 1941 — three days before Pope Francis turned […]
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — German Cardinal-designate Karl-Josef Rauber said he would be more than content to continue celebrating daily Mass and hearing the confessions of the Schonstatt Sisters he lives with and helping out with confirmations in the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. The 80-year-old veteran Vatican diplomat said he knows […]
By David Agren Catholic News Service MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Jose Lacunza Maestrojuan of David, Panama, learned of his elevation to cardinal via his smartphone. His sister, living in Spain, sent him a short message via the instant messaging service WhatsApp asking, “You have nothing to tell me? The pope has made new announcements. […]
By Lise Alves Catholic News Service SAO PAULO (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Arlindo Gomes Furtado, whose diocese is part of an archipelago 400 miles off the coast of West Africa, said the challenges to the church in Cape Verde mirror those found elsewhere. “We are trying to make the church more open, welcoming … more dynamic […]