Agnelo Rossi (4 May 1913 – 21 May 1995) was a Brazilian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and

dean of the Sacred 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 establi ...

Biography

Rossi was born on 4 May 1913 in Joaquim Egidio,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in the Diocese of

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's population is 1,213,792, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian ...

. In 1933 he left his Brazilian home for Rome. There he studied at the Pontifical College ''Pio Brasileiro'' and the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He was ordained a priest on 27 March 1937 in the Patriarchal Lateran Basilica by Luigi Traglia, Vicegerent of Rome. Rossi subsequently met duties in Brazil, as secretary to the Bishop of Campinas for one year and as faculty member of the Central Seminary of São Paulo and the faculty of economic science of the

University of Campinas The State University of Campinas ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Campinas), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Unicamp is consistently ranked among the top universities in Brazil and ...

. He was canon of the cathedral chapter of Campinas in 1943–1956. In 1956 Rossi was appointed Bishop of Barra do Piraí within the metropolitan district of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. Paulo de Tarso Campos, bishop of his home diocese Campinas, consecrated him in the same year. Rossi was named Archbishop of

Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: �ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a municipality and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-largest municipality in the State wit ...

in 1962. Two years later he was transferred to the Archiepiscopal see of São Paulo, which he held until 1970. 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 1965 Rossi was created

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 ...

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 State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

, and he received the title of '' Gran Madre di Dio''. In 1970 he was appointed Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the recently renamed ''Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide''. He participated in the two

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

s of 1978 ( I, II). In 1984 he was promoted to Cardinal Bishop of Sabina e Poggio Morteto by

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 ...

; two years later he received the title of

Bishop of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since ...

in addition, becoming Dean 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 app ...

. He was President of the

Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; it, Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, link=no) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the fun ...

from 1984 to 1989. He resigned as president in 1989 and as Dean in 1993; because he ceased to be Dean, he gave up the title of Bishop of Ostia. He subsequently returned to Brazil. Cardinal Rossi died on 21 May 1995 in

Sources

Catholic Hierarchy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Agnelo 1913 births 1995 deaths Deans of the College of Cardinals Brazilian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Cardinal-bishops of Sabina 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Brazil Brazilian people of Italian descent Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Campinas Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Roman Catholic archbishops of Ribeirão Preto Roman Catholic archbishops of São Paulo Roman Catholic bishops of Barra do Piraí-Volta Redonda

Biography

See also

Sources

References