• August 3
  The Catholic News Agency informed that the health problems of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI are not serious, though the Pope Emeritus is suffering from a painful disease. According to the Pope Emeritus' personal secretary, Archbishop George Gänswein, "the health conditions of the Pope Emeritus are not of particular concern, except for those of a 93 year old who is going through the most acute phase of a painful, but not serious, disease."

• August 3
  Passauer Neue Presse (PNP) informed that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is seriously ill and that the final resting place has been determined, according to his biographer Peter Seewald. The 93-year-old Pope Emeritus has suffered from a facial erysipelas, or facial shingles, a bacterial infection of the skin which causes a painful, red rash, since he returned to Rome from Germany after visiting his seriously ill brother Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, who passed away a few days later. The viral disease is associated with episodes of severe pain. According to Mr. Seewald, the Pope Emeritus has become extremely fragile. His thinking and memory are well, but his voice is barely audible at the moment. The Pope Emeritus' spiritual will, which has already been written, was to be published after his death. As his final resting place, he had the former tomb of Pope Saint John Paul II in the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica. He felt particularly attached to this predecessor whose sarcophagus is now venerated in a side chapel next to the Pietà of Michelangelo in the entrance area of ​​Saint Peter's Basilica.

• July 18
  L'Osservatore Romano, informed that at the Altar of the Cathedra of the Papal Vatican Basilica, took place the funeral of Polish Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education (of the Institutes of Study), who died on Friday July 17, 2020. The funeral was held on Saturday morning July 18. Pope Francis presided over the rite of the «Ultima commendatio» and «Valedictio». The Mass was celebrated by the Vice-dean of the College of Cardinals and prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, who also pronounced the homily. Twenty-one Cardinals concelebrated, among them the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin; and thirteen prelates were present - among them Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute of the Secretariat of State, with the councilor, Monsignor Luigi Roberto Cona - and some prelates and Polish priests. With the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See was Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States. Present also were two cardinals, and some men and women religious - including the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who assisted Cardinal Grocholewski and were close to him until the end - as well as the editor of L'Osservatore Romano, Andrea Monda. The late Cardinal will be buried in the Cathedral of Poznań, his diocese of origin.

• July 17
  The Office of Liturgical Celebrations informed that on Saturday July 18, 2020, at 11 a.m., at the Altar of the Cathedra of the Vatican Basilica, will take place the exequies of Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, of the Title of San Nicola in Carcere, Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
  The Exequial Liturgy will be celebrated by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Vice-dean of the College of Cardinals, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, together with the other Cardinals.
  At the end of Eucharistic Celebration, Holy Father Francis will preside over the rite of the Ultima Commendatio and Valedictio.

• July 17
  Upon learning the news of the death of Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, the Pope sent a telegram of condolence to his brother, Władislaw Grocholewski.

• July 17
  The Archdiocese of Kraków informed that Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education, died today in Rome. He was eighty years old.
  After the death of Cardinal Grocholewski the number of Cardinals is 221. The Cardinal electors are 122; and the Cardinal non-electors are now 99.

• July 10
  Additional information has been included in the biographical entries of Cardinals Giovanni Antonio Serbelloni (1560), Fabrizio Serbelloni (1753) and Alberico Archinto (1756), kindly provided by Mr. Charles N. Bransom, Jr., director and editor of Revue des Ordinations Épiscopales, and creator of the site Apostolic Succession & Episcopal Lineages in the Roman Catholic Church.

• July 8
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father named Cardinals Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic; Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, I.D.V., Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane, Laos; Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta and Military Ordinary for Indonesia; Jean-Claude Höllerich, S.I., Archbishop of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; and Michael Czerny, S.I., Under-Secretary of the Section for Migrants and Refugees of the Dicastery for the Service of the Integral Human Development, members of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialog.

• July 4
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father named Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, United States of America, member of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

• July 1
  L'Osservatore Romano informed that Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, eldest brother of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died today in Regensburg, Germany. He was ninety six years old. The Pope Emeritus had travelled to Germany in June to visit his ailing brother.

• June 29
  Sala Stampa della Santa Sede informed that on the Solemnity of the Saints Apostles Peter and Paul, at 9:30 a.m., at the Altar of the Cathedra, in the Papal Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father Francis blessed the Pallia which are conferred to the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re; and the metropolitan archbishops appointed during the year. The Pallium will then be imposed to each metropolitan archbishop by the pontifical representative in the respective metropolitan See. After the rite of the blessing of the Pallia, the Pope presided at the Eucharistic celebration with ten Cardinals of the Order of Bishops and the archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter, Cardinal Angelo Comastri. The Pope delivered the homily after the proclamation of the Gospel.
  One of the Archbishops receiving the pallium was Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha, Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia.
  June 29 2020 Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul Apostles Pope Francis, YouTube.

• June 29
  Vatican News informed that Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, O.F.M., Archbishop emeritus of São Paulo, Brazil, was elected president of the newly established Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon.

• June 28
  La Croix informed that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop emeritus of Lyon, France, celebrated the farewell Mass at the metropolitan and primatial cathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Lyon. He announced that he would move from Lyon in July and go to Brittany in northwest France where he will take up residence at the motherhouse of the Little Sisters of the Poor. He said he was available for whatever mission Pope Francis might entrust to him.

• June 22
  Vatican News informed that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI returned to the Vatican after visiting his ill brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, in Germany. He took advantage of his last day in Münich to visit the Ziegetsdorf Cemetery where his parents and older sister are buried. He prayed briefly at their tombs, before blessing their graves with holy water. He also visited his old home in Pentling, on the outskirts of Regensburg, where he worked as professor of Dogmatics at the city’s university before his appointment as Archbishop of Münich und Freising in 1977. The house is now the headquarters of the "Benedict XVI Institute", which preserves his theological heritage. He also met with the Apostolic Nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Nikola Eterović, who in the years of his pontificate had served as Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops.

• June 19
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father named Cardinals Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.I., Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature; and Kevin Joseph Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Lay, Family and Life, members of the the Pontifical Council for the Legislative Texts.

• June 18
  Catholic News Agency informed that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI traveled from Rome to Regensburg, his Bavarian homeland with his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Apostolic Household, to visit his ailing brother Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, who is seriously ill. He is traveling with his physician, Dr. Patrizio Polisca; his nurse; a religious woman; and the deputy commander of the Vatican City State Gendarmerie Corps, Davide Giulietti. He will be staying in the seminary of the diocese of Regensburg. The Pope Emeritus made the decision to travel to his brother in Regensburg at short notice, after consulting with Pope Francis. It is believed to be Pope Emeritus’ first trip outside Italy since he stood down as pope in 2013.

• June 16
  National Catholic Register informed that Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, O.P., Archbishop of Vienna, Austria, ended his mandate as President of the Austrian Episcopal Conference after twenty two years in the post. To succeed him was elected Franz Lackner, O.F.M., Archbishop of Salzburg.

• June 15
  cath.ch informed that Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, was confirmed in his post after turning seventy five years old on that day. The official letter of confirmation, signed by tha hand of the Holy Father, states that the Cardinal will continue as Prefect donec aliter provideatur, that is to say until the Pope decides otherwise.

• June 15
  Agência Ecclesia informed that Cardinal Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal, ended his mandate as President of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference after seven years in the post. To succeed him was elected José Ornelas, bishop of Setúbal.

• June 14
  New bibliographic items added to the site during the months of January to March 2019.

• June 6
  Additional information concerning the episcopal consecrations of Cardinals Pierre de Colmieu (1244); Gianfrancesco Morosini (1588); Lorenzo Magalotti (1624); Alessandro Bichi (1633); Francesco Maria Macchiavelli (1641); Francesco Cherubini (1647); Carlo Bonelli (1664); Giulio Spinola (1666); Domenico Maria Corsi (1686); Gianalberto Badoaro (1706); Pierluigi Carafa, iuniore (1728); Giovanni Battista Barni (1743); Antonino Sersale (1754); Giovanni Ottavio Manciforte Sperelli (1777); Camillo Siciliano di Rende (1887); and Michele Pellegrino (1967), have been included in their biographical entries kindly provided by Mr. Charles N. Bransom, Jr., director and editor of Revue des Ordinations Épiscopales, and creator of the site Apostolic Succession & Episcopal Lineages in the Roman Catholic Church.

• May 25
  More details have been included in the Webgraphy section of the biographical entry of Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Cardinal Bishop of the Title of S. Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

• May 16
  Chiesa di Milano, il Portale della Diocesi Ambrosiana informed that the funeral Mass for the late Cardinal Renato Corti, Bishop emeritus of Novara, was presided by Mario Enrico Delpini, Archbishop of Milan, in the Shrine of Beata Vergine Addolorata in Rho. The Archbishop also delivered the homily. Video of the homily.
  In the Shrine, behind closed doors, with the coffin covered with white flowers at the foot of the main altar, the suffrage celebration took place, with the relatives of the Cardinal, the Oblate Missionary Fathers of Rho, and the staff that looked after the Cardinal.
  Concelebrating the Mass with the Archbishop were Father Patrizio Garascia, superior of the Fathers of Rho, who also delivered a salutation to the late Cardinal; Bishops Marco Ferrari and Giuseppe Vegezzi; and the secretary of the late Cardinal don Giuliano Veronese.
  At the end of the Mass, Bishop Luca Raimondi, episcopal vicar of the Pastoral Zone IV of Milan, expressed his remembrances and read some messages, including the one sent by Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop emeritus of Milan, who got to know the late Cardinal from a young age, being his countryman; and by Cardinal Vinco Puljić, Archbishop of Sarajevo, sent a letter of condolence in which he called the late Cardinal "a dear friend and benefactor of our Archdiocese". The message of the Mayor of Galbiate (native town of the deceased), Piergiovanni Montanelli, was also read.
  The funeral will take place in the Cathedral of Novara - where the late Cardinal will be buried - on Tuesday May 19, presided over by the Bishop of Novara Franco Giulio Brambilla.

• May 15
  The Diocese of Novara published the Notes from the Ordinariate for the celebration of the funeral of Cardinal Renato Corti, Bishop emeritus of Novara.
  The funeral will be on Tuesday May 19, 2020 in the Cathedral of Novara.
  1. The Cardinal's coffin will be exhibited in the Cathedral, for the individual prayer of those who wish it, on Monday May 18 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., in compliance with current legislation (mask, physical distancing, separate access and exit, regulated entrance and contingent, guaranteed by identified staff, with a maximum concentration of about ten people inside the Cathedral for the approach to the funeral chamber, without prolonged stops).
  2. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday May 19; participants will have to arrive at the cathedral deferred in the previous hour to ensure staggered and orderly access, thus avoiding gatherings. Priests must come with their habits and purple stoles.
  3. The cars of those who participate in the funeral will be able to access the Curia's unpaved car parking until all places are filled; the rest will park in Piazza Puccini, as previously communicated to the Local Police Command of Novara.
  4. Due to the provisions related to the containment of the Covid-19 epidemic, and in relation to the provisions of the Protocol on the resumption of celebrations with the people, signed on May 7, 2020, access to the Cathedral is allowed up to a maximum of 180 people. Entry will only take place on the basis of a list already established. This maximum number will include - in addition to priests and religious, civil and military authorities - lay people, the Cardinal's family and the press.
  5. Access to the Cathedral will only take place from the curia side of the four-sided portico of the Duomo, the side that must always remain open, in order to avoid touching the handle and the door. You will only enter if equipped with a mask. At the entrance, before the celebration of the funeral, body temperature will be detected and the entrance will be regulated by volunteers. A sign outside the Cathedral will be posted on Monday and Tuesday to communicate the ban on access to people with flu / respiratory symptoms or with body temperatures of 37.5 ° or higher or who have had contact with people in the previous days who were positive to COVID-19. Sanitizing liquid will be available at the entrance.
  6. The order service inside the Cathedral will indicate to each the place to be occupied, in which you will have to stay until the end of the celebration. The exit will also be regulated to avoid gatherings, ensuring a double exit, with times that will be dictated at the end of the function.
  7. The celebration will be broadcast both in streaming (www.youtube.com/user/passionovara/live) and on local televisions: VCO Azzurra TV and Videonovara. 8. The external gate from Piazza del Duomo will remain closed and the religious function will not be broadcast with sound systems, in order to avoid gatherings of the faithful.
  9. On Monday evening, following the closure of the Ardent Chamber, an extraordinary cleaning of the rooms inside the Cathedral will be arranged, as required by the Protocol.
  10. In relation to the provisions of point 4.2 of the Protocol regarding the resumption of celebrations with the people, the communications envisaged will be posted at the entrance to the Cathedral.
  The Vicar General
  Msgr. Fausto Cossalter
  Notes for press participation
  There will be 10 cathedral seats available for journalists, which will no longer be available for accreditation.
  Accreditation is required - indicating name, surname and title - by 12 noon on Saturday May 16, by contacting the Social Communications Office.
  During the celebration it will not be possible to move freely in the cathedral, not even to take photos or videos.
  The Social Communications Office will send some photos of the celebration on Tuesday 19.

• May 14
  The Archdiocese of Milan informed that on Saturday May 15, 2020, at 11 a.m., Mario Enrico Delpini, Archbishop of Milan, will preside over the Mass for Cardinal Renato Corti. The celebration will take place at the Shrine of the Oblate Fathers of Rho. At the end, the body will be transferred to Novara where the funeral will take place.

• May 12
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that upon learning the news of the death of Cardinal Renato Corti, Holy Father Francis sent a telegram of condolence to Franco Giulio Brambilla, Bishop of Novara.

• May 12
  L'Osservatore Romano, Anno CLX n. 107 (48.431), Città del Vaticano, mercoledì 13 maggio 2020, p. 6, informed that Cardinal Renato Corti, of the Title of San Giovanni a Porta Latina, Bishop emeritus of Novara, Italy, died today at 9 a.m., in Milan, in the house of the Oblate Fathers of Rho, where he resided after having resigned from the pastoral government of the diocese of Novara. He was 84 years old.
  After the death of Cardinal Corti the number of Cardinals is 222. The Cardinal electors are 122; and the Cardinal non-electors are now 100.

• May 8
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father Francis accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of Genoa presented by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco. To succeed him, the Holy Father named Father Marco Tasca, O.F.M.Conv., former Minister General of his Order.

• May 7
  Additional information has been included in the biographical entry of Cardinal Henry Beaufort (1426), kindly provided by Mr. Mark West, from London, England.

• May 1
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father Francis promoted to the Order of Bishops Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, assigning him the Title of the Suburbicarian See of Porto-Santa Rufina.

• May 1
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that in a Rescriptum ex Audientia SS.MI, Pope Francis in an audience granted to the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, Monsignor Edgar Peña Parra, on April 14, 2020, decided to co-opt in the Order of Cardinal Bishops, equating him in all to the Cardinals awarded the title of a suburbicarian Church, Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, of the Title of S. Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
  The Rescriptum derogates canons 350 §§ 1-2 and 352 §§ 2-3 of the Code of Canon Law.
  The Rescriptum will be promulgated by publication in "L'Osservatore Romano", coming into force on May 1, 2020, and then published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

• April 28
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father Francis, with Rescriptum ex audientia Ss.mi of February 17, 2020, has instituted the John Paul I Vatican Foundation, in accordance with the Code of Canon Law and the fundamental Law of the Vatican City State, thus accepting the proposal to create a body intended to study further the person, thought and teachings of his venerable Predecessor, Pope John Paul I - Albino Luciani (August 26, 1978 - September 28, 1978) - and to promote the study and dissemination of his writings (cf. Statute, art. 1).
  More particularly, the Foundation aims to:
  - protect and preserve the cultural and religious heritage of Pope John Paul I;
  - promote initiatives such as conferences, meetings, seminars and study sessions;
  - establish prizes and scholarships;
  - to carry out editorial activity through the publication of both the results of its own studies and research and the works of third parties;
  - to propose itself as a point of reference, in Italy and abroad, for those working in the same field and with the same aims (Statute, art. 2).
  At the same time, the Supreme Pontiff appointed Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, as President of the Foundation. In implementation of the provisions of art. 4, paragraph 1 of the Statute, the same President appointed the members of the Board of Directors, for a period of five years, in the persons of Dr. Stefania Falasca, who also assumes the role of Vice-President of the Foundation; Cardinal Beniamino Stella; the Reverend Monsignor Andrea Celli; the Reverend Don Davide Fiocco; Dr. Lina Petri; and Dr. Alfonso Cauteruccio.
  In order to carry out its activities, the Foundation avails itself of a Scientific Committee, composed of six members, chosen among personalities of proven competence and experience, but with the possibility of being temporarily expanded for particular initiatives, projects, studies, research or consultations.

• April 25
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of Bogotá, Colombia, presented by Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez. To succeed him, the Holy Father named Luis José Rueda Aparicio, until then Archbishop of Popayán.

• April 22
  L'Osservatore Romano, Anno CLX n. 91 (48.415), Città del Vaticano, mercoledì 22 aprile 2020, p. 7, informed that Cardinal Angelo DeDonatis, Vicar General of Rome, has initiated the process for the beatification on the Servant of God Cardinal Grégoire Pierre XV Agagianian, Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians and later Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.

• April 20
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father named members of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America Cardinals Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, Bishop of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, and Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez, Archbishop of San Cristóbal de La Habana, Cuba.

• April 18
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father named Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, Italy, member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

• April 17
  Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar Emeritus of His Holiness for the City of Rome, turned eighty years old and, according to the regulation in the seventh paragraph of the introduction of the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, lost the right to participate in the Conclave.
  The number of Cardinals is 223. The Cardinal electors are now 122; and the Cardinal non-electors are now 101.

• April 15
  vaticannews.va informed that Cardinal Josef De Kesel, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel, Belgium, is temporarily stepping down for health reasons for an indefinite period of time. The Archbishop is not infected with the covid-19, said the Belgian Bishops' Conference. The Bishops' Conference did not provide any further information in its announcement. Cardinal De Kesel is also the chairman of the Bishops' Conference and Belgian military bishop. The diocese will be temporarily headed by the three Auxiliary Bishops Jean-Luc Hudsyn, Jean Kockerols and Koen Vanhoutte and by Vicar General Etienne Van Billoen.

• April 10
  Vatican News informed that Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vicar of His Holiness for the City of Rome, was released from the Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Hospital. He had entered the Hospital on March 30 after testing positive for Covid-19.

• April 8
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father, during a recent audience granted to Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.I., prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has decided to institute a new Study Commission on the female diaconate, composed of the following:
  President: Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, Archbishop of L’Aquila, Italy.
  Secretary: The Reverend Denis Dupont-Fauville, official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
  Members:
  Professor Catherine Brown Tkacz, Lviv, Ukraine.
  Professor Dominic Cerrato, Steubenville, United States of America (a permanent deacon).
  Professor Don Santiago del Cura Elena, Burgos, Spain.
  Professor Caroline Farey, Shrewsbury, Great Britain.
  Professor Barbara Hallensleben, Fribourg, Switzerland.
  Professor Don Manfred Hauke, Lugano, Switzerland.
  Professor James Keating, Omaha, United States of America (a permanent deacon).
  Professor Msgr. Angelo Lameri, Crema, Italy.
  Professor Rosalba Manes, Viterbo, Italy.
  Professor Anne-Marie Pelletier, Paris, France.

• April 6
  Catholic News Agency informed that Cardinal George Pell, former prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, had his abuse convictions overturned by Australia's High Court. The Cardinal is expected to be released from prison within two hours.

• March 31
  Catholic News Agency informed that Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, tested positive for Covid-19. He is the second Cardinal affected by the virus.

• March 30
  Vatican News informed that Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vicar of His Holiness for the City of Rome, was admitted to Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Hospital on Monday after testing positive for Covid-19. He is the first Cardinal affected by the virus.

• March 18
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father named Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Special Papal Envoy to the National Eucharistic Congress in the Democratic Republic of Congo, programmed in Lubumbashi on June 7-14, 2020.

• March 18
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father named Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., Archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, member of the Cardinalitial Commission of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

• March 11
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, presented by Murilo Sebastião Ramos Krieger, S.C.I.. To succeed him the Holy Father named Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha, until then Archbishop of Brasília.

• March 6
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Pope accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of Lyon, France, presented by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin.

• March 3
  L'Osservatore Romano, 03 marzo 2020, informed that cardinal Juan José Omella Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain, was elected President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference for the quadrienium 2020-2024. Also, Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, Archbishop of Madrid, was elected Vice-President of the Episcopal Conference for the same term.

• February 28
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that Pope Francis has launched a task force to help bishops' conferences prepare and update child protection guidelines.
  The initiative is following up on a plan announced at last year's Meeting for the Protection of Minors in the Church which ran from February 21 to 24, 2019.
  The task force was established "in order to assist the Episcopal Conferences in the preparation and updating of guidelines for the protection of minors," Vatican News reported.
  It will be supervised by Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, together with the members of the organizing Committee for last year's Meeting: Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, India; Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, United States of America; Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Deputy Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Father Hans Zollner, S.I., Dean of the Institute of Psychology of the Pontifical Gregorian University and member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
  The task force itself is composed of a Coordinator, Dr. Andrew Azzopardi, head of the Safeguarding Commission of the Maltese Bishops (established by the Archdiocese of Malta, the Diocese of Gozo, and the Conference of Religious Major Superiors); and a number of canon law experts of different nationalities.
  The Coordinator will report quarterly to the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State on the work undertaken by the task force.
  According to a Vatican communiqué, the task force will assist Episcopal Conferences, as well as Religious Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life, in preparing and updating guidelines for the protection of minors, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and current canonical legislation, especially the motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi.
  The task force's mandate will last for two years, beginning February 24. It will be supported by a special fund established by benefactors.

• February 25
  Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, O.M.M., Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, turned eighty years old and, according to the regulation in the seventh paragraph of the introduction of the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, lost the right to participate in the Conclave.
  The number of Cardinals is 223. The Cardinal electors are now 123; and the Cardinal non-electors are now 100.

• February 21
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Pope included among the Members of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia the following Cardinals:
  
  1) In the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, President of the Pontifical Council for the Interreligious Dialog (Spain);
  
  2) In the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Cardinals Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta (Indonesia); and Michael Czerny, S.I., Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for the Service of the Integral Human Development (Czech Republic);
  
  3) In the Congregation for the Clergy Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez, Archbishop of San Cristóbal de La Habana (Cuba);
  
  4) In the Congregation of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, O.F.M.Cap., Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo);
  
  5) In the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life Cardinal Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, Bishop of Huehuetenango (Guatemala);
  
  6) In the Dicastery for the Service of the Integral Human Development Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna (Italy);
  
  7) In the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialog Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, S.D.B., Archbishop of Rabat (Morocco);
  
  8) In the Pontifical Council for Culture Cardinals José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church (Portugal); and Jean-Claude Höllerich, S.I., Archbishop of Luxembourg (Luxembourg).

• February 19
  Communiqué of the Holy See Press Office about the Cardinals Council Meeting, 02.19.2020
  The Council of Cardinals met again for three years: Monday l7, Tuesdy 18, Wednesday 19 of February, 2020. Present were Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., Reinhard Marx, Seán Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., Giuseppe Bertello and Oswald Gracias. Also present were the Secretary of the Council, Bishop Marcello Semeraro, and the Adjunct Secretary, Bishop Marco Mellino.
  The Holy Father participated in the works with the exception of Wednesday morning, due to the General Audience.
  The last meeting of this session will take place this afternoon with the presence of Holy Father Francis.
  The text of the new Apostolic Constitution, redone according to the constributions offered by the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and of some experts, has been the object of a profound reading and revision by the Council, as well as by some suggestions made in recent weeks by Cardinals residing in Rome who had not been able to send their proposals.
  The reading of the text will continue in the next session of April 2020.

• February 17
  L'Osservatore Romano, Anno CLX n. 39 (48.363), Città del Vaticano, lunedì-martedì 17-18 febbraio 2020, p. 7, informed that in the morning of Sunday February 16, 2020, Cardinal Jean-Claude Höllerich, S.I., archbishop of Luxembourg, solemnly took possession of the Title of San Giovanni Crisostomo in Monte Sacro Alto. In the Roman Church in via Emilio De Marchi, the Jesuit Cardinal, President of the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Union (Comece), was welcomed by the Pastor, Don Massimo Tellan, who brought him the Crucifix for the kissing and veneration. Successively, the Cardinal presided over the Holy Mass, concelebrated by the Cardinal Almoner, Konrad Krajewski; by Mariano Crociata, Bishop of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno, first Vice-president of Comece; and by Father Manuel Enrique Barrios Prieto, Secretary General of Comece; together with other prelates and the Pastor of the Church and several Jesuit priets. Before the rite, directed by Pontifical cerimoniere Massimiliano Matteo Boiardi, a choir of children from the Paul VI peer school performed a song and gave a pastoral shaft which was then used by the Cardinal in the celebration. Among those present: the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie, with his wife, Stéphanie de Lannoy; the cardinal's mother, Marie Anne Höllerich-Wester; Bishop Guerino Di Tora, auxiliary for the Northern sector of Rome; and some ambassadors.
  Likewise, the Vatican newspaper informed that on the morning of Sunday February 16, 2020, Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, S.D.B., archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, solemnly took possession of the Title of Saint Leo I. In the Roman church of via Prenestina the Salesian Cardinal was welcomed by the parish pastor Don Vito Di Nuzzo, who presented him the Crucifix for kissing and veneration. The Spanish cardinal then presided over the Concelebrated Sunday Mass together with the clergy of the parish community and some of his Salesian confreres. At the beginning of the rite - directed by the pontifical ceremoniere Ján Dubina - the Parish Priest read the Papal Bull of assignment.

• February 17
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the 33rd Meeting of the Council of Cardinals began this morning in the presence of the Holy Father Francis.
  The works will continue until Wednesday February 19, 2020.

  The previous meeting of the Council were held on October 1-3 and December 3-5, 2013; February 17-19, April 27-30, July 1-4, September 15-17 and December 9-11, 2014; February 9-11, April 13-15, June 8-10, September 14-16, and December 10-12, 2015; February 8-9, April 11-13, June 6-8, September 12-14, and December 12-14, 2016; February 13-15, April 24-26, June 12-14, September 11-13, and December 11-13, 2017; February 26-28, April 23-25, June 11-13, September 10-12, and December 10-12, 2018; February 18-20, April 8-10, June 25-27, September 17-19, and December 3-5, 2019.

• February 15
  Additional information has been included in the biographical entries of Cardinals Vitaliano Visconti (1666); Domenico Bartolucci (2010); and Prosper Grech, O.S.A. (2012), kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta.

• February 10
  L'Osservatore Romano, CLX n. 33 (48.357), Vatican City, Monday-Tuesday 10-11 February 2020, p. 8, informed that on the afternoon of Saturday February 8, 2020, Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, solemnly took possession of the deaconry of San Girolamo della Carità. The rector, Don Filippo Goyret, welcomed him at the entrance of the Roman church in via di Monserrato, for the kiss and veneration of the Crucifix. The Papal Bull of Assignment was read by Father Felipe Luis Navarro Marfá, rector of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, who concelebrated Holy Mass with the Spanish cardinal, together with Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and with Monsignor Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage and Father Paulin Batairwa Kubuya, respectively secretary and sub-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Twenty priests also concelebrated, including the collaborators of Cardinal Ayuso Guixot in the dicastery and some Comboni Missionaries, the religious family to which the Cardinal belongs. Among those present were Archbishop Francisco-Javier Lozano, Apostolic Nuncio, and the Slovak community based in the church of San Girolamo della Carità. The rite was directed by Monsignor Vincenzo Peroni, pontifical ceremoniere.

• February 10
  The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff informed that on Sunday February 16, 2020, at 11 a.m., Cardinal Jean-Claude Höllerich, S.I., Archbishop of Luxembourg, will take possession of the Title of San Giovanni Crisostomo a Monte Sacro Alto, Via Emilio De Marchi, 60, Rome.
  The Office of Liturgical Celebrations also informed that on Sunday February 16, 2020, at 11:30 a.m., Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, S.D.B., Archbishop of Rabat, will take possession of the Title of San Leone I, Via Prenestina, 104, Rome.

• February 4
  The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff informed that on Saturday February 8, 2020, at 6:30 p.m., Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialog, will take possession of the Deaconry of San Girolamo della Carità a Via Giulia, Via Monserrato, 62/A, Rome.

• February 1
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Pope named Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, member of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

• January 30
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that the Pope named Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., Archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, Special Papal Envoy to the celebrations of the 500th Anniversary of the first Mass in Argentinian territory, which will take place in the city of Puerto San Julián, province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, on March 31 - April 1, 2020.

• January 27
  L'Osservatore Romano, Anno CLX n. 21 (48.345), Città del Vaticano, lunedì-martedì 27-28 gennaio 2020, p. 7, reported that on the morning of Sunday January 26, 2020, the Lithuanian Cardinal Sigitas Tamkevičius, S.I., Archbishop Emeritus of Kaunas, solemnly took possession of the title of Sant'Angela Merici, on the eve of the liturgical memory of the founder of the Ursulines. In the Roman church of the Nomentano district the Cardinal was welcomed by the parish priest, Don Danilo Spagnoletti, who presented him the Crucifix for the kissing and the veneration. On reaching the presbyteral seat, the cardinal handed the bill of assignment to Monsignor Lucio Bonora, cleric prelate of the Apostolic Chamber, who read it out. After which the cardinal presided over the Holy Mass, concelebrated, among others, by Algirdas Jurevičius, Titular Bishop of Materiana, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Kaunas; by Monsignor Rolandas Makrickas, of the Secretariat of State; by the Rectors of the Pontifical Lithuanian College in Rome and of the Archdiocesan Seminary of Kaunas; and by numerous priests of the Baltic nation. Among those present at the rite - directed by the papal ceremoniere Marco Agostini - was the Ambassador of Lithuania to the Holy See, Zapolskas Petra.

• January 27
  The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff informed that on Saturday February 1, 2020 at 6:30 p.m., Cardinal Michael Louis Fitzgerald, M. Afr., Apostolic Nuncio, will take possession of the Deaconry of Santa Maria in Portico, Piazza di Campitelli, 9, Rome.

• January 25
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that on January 18, 2020, the Holy Father approved the election - done by the Cardinals of the Order of Bishops – of the Dean of the College of Cardinals, in the person of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, of the Title of the Suburbicarian See of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto, who will also assume the Title of the Suburbicarian see of Ostia.
  Likewise, on January 24, 2020, the Supreme Pontiff appoved the election of the Vice-Dean of the same College of Cardinals, in the person of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, of the Title of Ss. Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

• January 20
  L'Osservatore Romano, Anno CLX n. 15 (48.339), Città del Vaticano, lunedì-martedì 20-21 gennaio 2020, p. 8, informed that on the morning of Sunday January 19, 2020, Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.I., under-secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development (Dssui), solemnly took possession of the deaconry of San Michele Arcangelo. In the Roman church of Pietralata, in Largo Geltrude Comensoli, the Jesuit cardinal was welcomed by the parish priest Don Gianmarco Merlo, who presented him the crucifix for the kiss and veneration. After that, the Cardinal presided over the Holy Mass, concelebrated by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, prefect of the Dssui; by the bishop of Azul in Argentina, the Jesuit Hugo Manuel Salaberry Goyenche; and by a dozen prelates, among them Monsignor Lucio Adrián Ruiz, secretary of the Dicestery for Communications, the Jesuit Diego Fares, writer of "La Civile Cattolica"; and by Don Merlo himself, who also read the papal bull. The rite was directed by Monsignor Diego Ravelli, pontifical ceremoniere.

• January 20
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that on Sunday January 26, 2020, at 11:00 a.m., Cardinal Sigitas Tamkevičius, S.I., archbishop emeritus of Kaunas, Lithuania, will take possession of the Title of Sant'Angela Merici, Via di Sant’Angela Merici, 57, Rome.

• January 13
  L'Osservatore Romano, Anno CLX n. 9 (48.333), Città del Vaticano, lunedì-martedì 13-14 gennaio 2020, p. 8, informed that on the afternoon of Saturday January 11, 2020, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, took possession of the Title of Sant'Egidio.
  In the Roman church of Piazza Sant'Egidio, the cardinal was greeted by the Vicar of the Parish of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Don Francesco Tedeschi, who presented him with the crucifix for the kiss and veneration. After sprinkling the people with Holy Water, the Cardinal went to the presbytery, where he received the greeting address of Father Tedeschi, who also read the Papal Bull with which the Church of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere was raised to the rank of cardinalitial presbyteral title and the Bull of assignation. The rite was directed by the pontifical ceremoniere Monsignor Diego Ravelli. Among those present were Archbishops Vincenzo Paglia and Agostino Marchetto; Andrea Riccardi and Marco Impagliazzo, respectively founder and president of the Community of Sant’Egidio; and Guzmán Carriquiry Lecour, secretary in charge of the vice presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
  At the end of the ceremony, Cardinal Zuppi went to the nearby basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, of which he was a pastor for a long time, for the celebration of Holy Mass.

• January 13
  The Press Office of the Holy See informed that on Sunday January 19, 2020, at 11:30 a.m., Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.I., Under-Secretary of the Section for Migrants and Refugees of the Dicastery for the Service of the Integral Human Development, will take possession of the Deaconry of San Michele Arcangelo, Largo Geltrude Comensoli, 6, Rome.

• January 10
  Additional information has been included in the biographical entries of Cardinals Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte, Theat. (1802); Jean de Dieu Raymond de Boisgelin de Cucé (1803); Anton Theodor von Colloredo-Waldesee Mels (1803); Pietro Antonio Zorzi, C.R.S. (1803); Diego Gregorio Cadello (1803); Jean Baptiste de Belloy (1803); Etienne Hubert de Cambacères (1803); and Joseph Fesch (1803), kindly provided by Mr. Francisco Vázquez, from Valencia, Spain.

• January 9
  The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff informed that on Saturday January 11, 2020, at 7:30 p.m., Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, will take possession of the Title of Sant’Egidio, Piazza di Sant’Egidio, 3/A, Rome.

• January 7
  Catholic News Agency informed that former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick (2001), has moved from the Capuchin St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas, where he had been living since 2018, to an undisclosed location. He now lives in a residential community of priests who have been removed from ministry.

• January 4
  Additional information has been included in the biographical entries of Cardinals Sebastiano Baggio (1969); Jean-Louis Tauran (2003); Stephen Fumio Hamao (2003); Prosper Grech, O.S.A. (2012); and Quasi Cardinal Josip Uhač (1998), kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta.

• January 2
  L'Osservatore Romano, Anno CLX n. 1 (48.325), Città del Vaticano, giovedì-venerdì 2-3 gennaio 2020, p. 6, informed that the funeral of Cardinal Prosper Grech, deacon of Santa Maria Goretti, was held on Thursday morning, January 2, 2020, at the Altar of the Chair of the Papal Vatican Basilica. At the end, Pope Francis presided over the rite of the "ultima commendatio" and "valedictio". The Mass was celebrated by the Vice-dean of the College of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, Cardinal Bishop of the title of the Suburbicarian see of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto. Seventeen cardinals concelebrated, including the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, six prelates - including the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, Assistant Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the pro-secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, Mario Grech - and numerous prelates and priests, many of Maltese origin. Among those, the Prior General of the Augustinian Order Alejandro Moral Anton; and the Augustinian provincial of Malta, Leslie Gatt. With the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited before the Holy See were Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, and Monsignors Luigi Roberto Cona, assessor of the Secretariat of State, and Joseph Murphy, head of Protocol. The ceremony was attended by three cardinals and Archbishop Georg Gänswein, prefect of the Papal Household. Among those present were the President of the Republic of Malta, George William Vella, and his wife; the Minister of Foreign Affairs Carmelo Abela and the Ambassador of Malta to the Holy See, Frank Zammit. Numerous clergymen, religious - especially of the Order of Saint Augustine - and lay people participated together with some nuns, accompanied by the Abbess of the Roman monastery of the Holy Crowned Saints. The late cardinal will be buried in the Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery in Paola, Malta, in the vaults of the Maltese Augustinian Province.

• January 1
  Additional information has been included in the biographical entries of Cardinals Diego Innico Caracciolo (1800); Ercole Consalvi (1800); Giuseppe Firrao (1801); Ferdinando Maria Saluzzo (1801); Luigi Ruffo-Scilla (1801); Bartolomeo Pacca, seniore (1801); Giovanni Filippo Gallarati Scotti (1801); Giulio Gabrielli (1801); Francesco Mantica (1801); Giuseppe Albani (1801); Marino Carafa di Belvedere (1801); Anton Felice Zondadari (1801); Lorenzo Litta (1801); Michelangelo Luchi, O.S.B.Cas. (1801); Carlo Crivelli (1801); Michele Di Pietro (1801); Francesco Maria Locatelli (1801); Giovanni Castiglione (1801); Charles Erskine (1801); and Quasi-Cardinal Paolo Luigi Silva (1801), kindly provided by Mr. Francisco Vázquez, from Valencia, Spain.

• As of January 1, 2020, the members of the College of Cardinals are 223; 124 are electors and 99 are non-electors, having lost their right to participate in the conclave when they turned 80 years old, according to the regulation in the seventh paragraph of the introduction of the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis. During this year, four cardinals will turn 80. They are: Béchara Boutros Raï, O.M.M., February 25, 1940; Agostino Vallini, April 17, 1940; Lorenzo Baldisseri, September 29, 1940; and Donald William Wuerl, November 12, 1940

• From January 1 to December 31, 2019, the cardinals' site received 92,894 visits as well as numerous electronic messages with comments, corrections, and additional information, both textual and pictorial. The counter records only the initial visit to the site and not the ones to other sections on the same occasion. On January 1, 2020, the number of visitors to the site since January 1, 2002, was 2,460,262. The site contains the biographical entries of the 4,443 pre-cardinals, cardinals, quasi-cardinals and pseudocardinals identified between 494 and 2019.

©1998-2020 Salvador Miranda.