Pietro Parente, 95; Oldest Roman Catholic Cardinal
Pietro Parente, a conservative Italian theologian and the oldest member of the Sacred College of Cardinals, died Monday at his home after a long illness, the Vatican announced Tuesday. He was 95.
Pope John Paul II had visited Parente, who had been ill for some time, at his Rome residence the day after Christmas.
“He was an acute and perspicacious theologian, teacher at the pontifical universities, archbishop of Perugia and faithful servant of the Holy See,” John Paul said following Parente’s death.
The Vatican said the Pope will attend Parente’s funeral Wednesday.
A noted expert on dogmatic theology, Parente taught at Rome’s Pontifical Urban University for more than 30 years until he was named archbishop of Perugia in 1955.
From 1959 to 1967, he was the No. 2 man at the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Pope Paul VI elevated him to the rank of cardinal in 1967.
The oldest member of the College of Cardinals now is Soviet Cardinal Julians Vaivods, the apostolic administrator of Riga, Latvia, who is 91.
Parente’s death reduced the number of cardinals to 143, including 35 who are over age 80 and thus ineligible to take part in a papal election.
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