Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as the

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

from 2002 to 2008 and became a cardinal in 2010.

Early life and education

Amato was born in

Molfetta Molfetta (; Bari dialect, Molfettese: ) is a town located in the northern side of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has a well restored old city, and its own dialect. History The earliest local signs of permanent habit ...

, Apulia, Italy on 8 June 1938. He entered the

Salesians The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

after completing his novitiate at a Salesian high school. He studied philosophy and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. He was ordained a priest on 22 December 1967, becoming a member of the Salesians of Saint John Bosco. He studied at the

Salesian Pontifical University The Salesian Pontifical University (; ) is a pontifical university in Italy run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It has three campuses, one in Rome, one in Turin, and one in Jerusalem. The Salesian Pontifical University is an ordinary member of ...

gaining a licentiate in philosophy, specializing in

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

. In 1972 he began to teach at the Salesian as an assistant. In 1974 he obtained his doctorate at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

with a dissertation on ''The Tridentine pronouncements on the need for sacramental confession in canons 6–9, Session XIV''. From 1978 to 1979 he was a fellow of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, at the monastery Orthodox Moní Vlatádon, home of the renowned Institute of patristic studies. In 1988 he spent a sabbatical year in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, where he began to study the theology of religions.

Academic life

Amato was professor of dogmatics at the

, and for twelve years (from 1981 to 1987 and then 1993 to 1997) was dean of the Faculty of Theology. He served as a consultor to the

and the

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery within the Holy See whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently fr ...

as well as for the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

. His publications include: ''Trinità in contesto'', Biblioteca di Scienze Religiose 110 (Roma: LAS, 1994); ''La Catechesi al traguardo. Studi sul Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica'', a cura di Angelo Amato, Enrico dal Covolo e Achille M. Triacca, Biblioteca di Scienze Religiose 127 (Roma: LAS, 1997); ''Il vangelo del Padre'' (Bologna: EDB, 1998); ''Gesù il Signore. Saggio di cristologia'', Corso di Teologia Sistematica 4 (Bologna: EDB, 1999); ''Maria e la Trinità. Spiritualità mariana ed esistenza cristiana – Alma Mater'' (Roma: San Paolo Edizioni, 2000); ''Il celibato di Gesù'' (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010); and ''I santi della chiesa'' (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010).

Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

On 19 December 2002,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Sila. He was consecrated bishop on 6 January 2003 by Pope John Paul II. In addition to his role as CDF Secretary, Amato served as a consultor to the Pontifical Councils for Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue. In an April 2007 address to chaplains, he denounced

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and criticized the Italian media's coverage of them. He said that they are evils "that remain almost invisible" due to media presentation of them as an "expression of human progress."

Church treatment of Galileo Galilei

According to Amato, a 1633 letter discovered in the Vatican's archive proved that the

Roman Inquisition The Roman Inquisition, formally , was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of a wide array of crimes according ...

, the predecessor of his Congregation, had not persecuted

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

for maintaining that the Earth goes round the Sun. The letter from the Commissioner of the Holy Office to Francesco Barberini expressed the Pope's concern that the trial of the scientist accused of heresy be concluded quickly as his health was poor. Archbishop Amato said the letter proved that the church's attitude to the great astronomer was benign.

Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints

After the 2005 Papal conclave, Amato was the first person received in private audience by the new

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, who until his election had been Prefect of the Congregation of which Amato continued to be Secretary until 9 July 2008, when Pope Benedict named him Prefect of the

. Thus, Amato oversaw the process which leads to the canonisation of saints, which includes preparing a case, including the approval of certified miracles. The case is presented to the pope, who decides whether or not to proceed with

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

canonisation Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

. Amato was the second CDF Secretary to have led the Causes of Saints dicastery, the first having been Alberto Bovone. On 6 July 2010, he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

. On 16 October 2010, he was appointed by Pope Benedict as a member of the

for a five-year renewable term. Being resident in Rome, he was invited to attend not only the plenary meetings of those departments, which in principle are held every year, but also the ordinary meetings. Amato was created

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of S. Maria in Aquiro by

in the consistory of 20 November 2010. On 29 December 2010, Amato was appointed a member of the

. On 14 January 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree attributing a miracle to the intercession of Pope John Paul II, clearing the way for his beatification on 1 May 2011. Amato said that the "Papal dispensation of the 5-year waiting period before opening a cause, and the second was the placing of the cause on a 'fast track' that by-passed the waiting list. There were, however, no corners cut with regard to the rigor and accuracy of procedure. The case was treated like any other, following all the steps prescribed by the law of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On the contrary, if I may speak further to one of my first observations: precisely in order to honor the dignity and the memory of this great Pope, to avoid any doubt and overcome any difficulties, the case was subjected to particularly careful scrutiny." Amato was considered ''

papabile ( , , ; plural: ; ) is an unofficial Italian term coined by Vaticanologists and used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man—in practice, always a cardinal—who is thought of as a likely or possible candidate to be ...

'' for the papal conclave of 2013 that elected Pope Francis. His replacement by Giovanni Angelo Becciu as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints as of 31 August was announced on 26 May 2018. After ten years at the rank of cardinal deacon, he exercised his option to assume the rank of

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

, which

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

confirmed on 3 May 2021.

Death

Amato died in Rome on 31 December 2024, at the age of 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amato, Angelo 1938 births 2024 deaths 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Salesian Pontifical University alumni Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI 21st-century Italian cardinals Salesian cardinals People from Molfetta