Rome (Italy). On 2 January 2025, at the Altar of the Chair of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the funeral of Cardinal Angelo Amato, Salesian of Don Bosco, Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who died on 31 December 2024, at the age of 86.
At the Funeral Liturgy, celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, together with the Cardinals, the Archbishops and Bishops, the Salesian confreres, including Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in addition to the representatives of the dicasteries in which he served and his family, present also were the Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, and Sister Paola Battagliola, Visiting Councilor.
At the end of the Eucharistic Celebration, the Holy Father presided over the rite of the Ultima Commendatio, the Last Commendation to God to welcome the soul of the deceased into the Communion of Saints, and the Valedictio, the final greeting before burial.
As soon as he heard the news of the passing of Cardinal Amato, Pope Francis had expressed his closeness to the Vicar of the Rector Major, Fr. Stefano Martoglio, to his confreres and family members with these words:
“I thank God for the edifying witness of this spiritual son of St John Bosco, who for so many years has given himself with human finesse and generosity to the Gospel and the Church. I think of his priestly spirit and the theological preparation with which he served the Holy See, especially in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and in that of the Causes of Saints. I assure my prayer for the soul of this good and vigilant servant who, faithful to his motto, “sufficit gratia mea”, even in the last times marked by suffering, had abandoned himself to the goodness of the heavenly Father.
I trust that, accompanied by Mary Help of Christians and the saints and blesseds he led to the glory of the altars, he will be welcomed into the eternal banquet of heaven and I send my blessing to all those who share in the sorrow for his passing.”
In the homily of the funeral, Cardinal Re, recounting the stages of his life – from his entrance into the Salesian aspirantate of Torre Annunziata, attracted by the figure of Don Bosco, to his appointment in the Dicasteries, and his creation as a Cardinal in 2010, and beyond in his intense life – he stressed devotion to Our Lady, of whom he “spoke willingly”.
He then defined him as a man with “a character open to dialogue, welcoming, and with a positive vision of situations” (…), “rich in faith and humanity, generous in accepting to carry out conferences, presiding over cultural meetings, and preaching at liturgical celebrations.
His personality, made of genuine spirituality learned at the school of Don Bosco, and of refinement, aroused esteem and cordiality, for which he was highly appreciated by all. His main talent, however, was to be a man of faith.”
He concluded by saying: “We thank the Lord for the good that Card. Amato has sown. We accompany him with fraternal affection, entrusting him to the paternal goodness of God. (…) May the Lord, in His mercy, welcome him and give him the reward he deserves for his long life of teaching theology, serving the Church, and working for the good of souls.”
The same feeling of gratitude accompanies the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in memory of Cardinal Angelo Amato who, among other things, on 24 November 2012 in Macas, Ecuador, presided over the rite of the Beatification of Sister Maria Troncatti, now close to canonization.
