Enlarge image
Cardinal Angelo Sodano (2014)
Photo: Claudio Peri / picture alliance / dpa
Longtime Vatican Secretary of State and powerful Cardinal Angelo Sodano has died at the age of 94.
The Holy See confirmed this.
Sodano was from 1991 to 2006 under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
Secretary of State and thus chief diplomat of the Vatican.
The post is considered number two in the Papal States - in the last few months before the death of a weakened John Paul II, Sodano was one of the curial men who effectively ran the Catholic Church.
Sodano also served as dean of the College of Cardinals until late 2019 and for more than 14 years.
He held the second highest office in the Catholic Church.
Born on November 23, 1927 in Isola d'Asti in the Piedmont region, Sodano was long a papal envoy to South America before his career in Rome.
In a letter, Pope Francis describes Sodano, among other things, as a “respected man of the Church” and “lovable priest”.
Sodano died in Rome on Friday night after being hospitalized in early May following a Covid infection.
tgk/dpa
