Pope Francis advances sainthood cause of Argentine cardinal who organized 1st World Youth Days

Pope Francis has advanced the sainthood cause of an Argentine cardinal who helped to organize the first World Youth Day celebrations.

The pope confirmed a decree on Feb. 18 declaring that Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio (1920-1998) lived a life of heroic virtue.

Pironio was a member of the Roman Curia for two decades. He was brought to Rome in 1975 by Pope Paul VI and participated in the conclaves that elected John Paul I and John Paul II in 1978.

Pope Francis, who was known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio before he became pope, has said that Pironio was his friend when they both lived in Argentina. The future pope even heard Pironio’s confession at one point.

“I’ve known Pironio well since he was auxiliary bishop of La Plata,” he said in a 2008 interview.

“Whenever you talked to him … he opened a panorama of holiness to you from his profound humility,” he said.

Eduardo Francisco Pironio was born in the town of Nueve de Julio, northeastern Argentina, on Dec. 3, 1920. He was the youngest of 22 children in a family of Italian immigrants.

“In the history of my family there is something miraculous,” Pironio once said, according to Pope John Paul II, who recounted the story in his homily at Pironio’s funeral.

“When she gave birth to her first son,” Pironio recalled, “my mother was barely 18 years old and fell seriously ill. After her recovery, the doctors told her that she would not be able to have any more children without risking her own life. So she went to consult the auxiliary bishop of La Plata, who told her: ‘Doctors can be mistaken: put yourself in God’s hands and do your duty as a wife.’ My mother then gave birth to 21 more.”

At the age of 18, Pironio entered seminary in La Plata, the capital city of Buenos Aires Province. He studied theology in Europe and was rector of the seminary of Buenos Aires and later dean of theology at the Catholic University of Argentina. He attended the Second Vatican Council as a peritus (theological expert).

Pironio was made an auxiliary bishop of La Plata at the age of 44. He later recalled that this post was the same one held by the bishop who had blessed his mother.

“On the day of my episcopal ordination, the archbishop gave me that bishop’s pectoral cross without knowing the story behind it. When I told him that I owed my life to the owner of the cross, he wept,” he said.

Pironio went on to serve as the bishop of the dioceses of Avellaneda and Mar del Plata. He was also the president of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) from 1972 to 1975 and was known for his defense of human rights.