Cardinal Angelo Amato, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, died on December 31, 2024. With his passing, the College of Cardinals now numbers 252 cardinals, of whom 139 are electors in the event of a conclave, and 113 are non-voters.
Born in 1938 in Molfeta, Italy, Angelo Amato reached the age of 80 in 2018 and could therefore no longer take part in a conclave.
Called in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI to head the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Italian cardinal worked on the canonization of 913 people, including John Paul II (1978-2005), Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) and the Fatima visionaries Francisco and Jacinta Marto, canonized by Pope Francis in Fatima in May 2017.
The list is so long because it includes the 813 martyrs of Otranto, killed by the Turks at the end of the 15th century.
Archbishop Amato joined the Roman Curia in 2002, when Pope John Paul II appointed him Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he served alongside Cardinal Prefect Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope in 2005.
In 2008, it was the German pontiff who appointed him head of the Causes of Saints. Benedict XVI created him a cardinal in 2010.
Angelo Amato took part in the 2013 conclave. Pope Francis confirmed him as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, a post he relinquished in 2018, just before reaching the age of 80.
"He devoted himself with human finesse and generosity to the Gospel and the Church," Pope Francis said in a telegram of condolences addressed to Father Stefano Martoglio, head of the Salesian Society, of which Cardinal Amato was a member. The Pope also praised "the edifying testimony of this spiritual son of St. John Bosco."
The cardinal's funeral will take place on Thursday at 2 p.m. in St. Peter's Basilica and will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
As usual, Pope Francis will preside over the rite of Ultima commendatio et Valedictio, the "commendation" and "farewell," traditionally pronounced at the end of a funeral.
