Renato Corti (1 March 1936 – 12 May 2020) was an Italian cardinal and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman 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 was Bishop of

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

from 1990 to 2011.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

raised Corti to the rank of cardinal on 19 November 2016.

Early years

Renato Corti was born in

Galbiate Galbiate ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about south of Lecco. Galbiate borders the following municipalities: Annone di Brianza, Civat ...

in the province of Lecco, part of the

Archdiocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

on 1 March 1936. He studied at the seminary in Milan and was ordained on 28 July 1959 by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini (later

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 ...

). His assignments included serving as parochial vicar of the Oratory of Caronno Pertusella from 1959 to 1967, spiritual director at the College of Gorla Minore from 1967 to 1969, and spiritual director of the archdiocesan seminary of

Saronno Saronno (; lmo, Saronn ) is a ''comune'' of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Varese. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree in 1960. With an estimated population of 39,351 inhabitants, it is the most densely populated ...

from 1969 to 1977. He then became rector for theology at the seminary of Saronno. He became vicar general of the Milan Archdiocese in November 1980.

Episcopacy

Pope John Paul II named him auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milan on 30 April 1981 and titular bishop of Zallata. He received episcopal ordination on 6 June 1981 from Archbishop

Carlo Maria Martini Carlo Maria Martini (15 February 1927 – 31 August 2012) was an Italian Jesuit, cardinal of the Catholic Church and a Biblical scholar. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2004 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. A towering ...

, with Bishops Libero Tresoldi and Bernardo Citterio as co-consecrators. The same pope named him Bishop of Novara on 19 December 1990 to succeed Aldo Del Monte, and he was installed on 3 March 1991. In November 2007, four months after

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 ...

issued new rules about use of the 1962

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...

(see '' Summorum Pontificum''), three priests in the Novara diocese refused to celebrate Sunday Mass unless allowed to celebrate the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

exclusively. Corti suspended them. While Bishop of Novara he served terms as vice president of the Italian Bishops Conference (2000 to 2005) and vice president of the Regional Bishops Conference of Piedmont. He also held assignments in the Roman Curia as a member of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

and the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

. Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation as bishop of Novara on 24 November 2011. In retirement he continued to lead spiritual exercises for both religious and lay groups. He lived at Rho, near the college of the Oblates of St. Ambrose and St. Charles. Corti was known for his work as a spiritual director. Pope John Paul II asked him to lead his

Lenten Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

retreat in 2005 and at the invitation of Pope Francis he wrote the meditations used at the Stations of the Cross at Rome's

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

in 2015. Pope Francis raised Corti to the rank of cardinal at a consistory held on 19 November 2016. He was given the rank of Cardinal-Priest and assigned the titular church of

San Giovanni a Porta Latina San Giovanni a Porta Latina (Italian: "Saint John Before the Latin Gate") is a Basilica church in Rome, Italy, near the Porta Latina (on the Via Latina) of the Aurelian Wall. History According to Tertullian, as quoted by Saint Jerome, in the y ...

Death

Corti died in Rho at the age of 84 on 12 May 2020.

Works

* * ''Il miracolo sarebbe la santità. Meditazioni sul ministero sacerdotale'' (1999) * * * * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corti, Renato 1936 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops People from the Province of Lecco Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Spiritual teachers 21st-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Francis