Feb 10 2007
The Great Anti-Mafia Cardinal - Salvatore Pappalardo (1918-2006)
As the world news focused on the death of former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, following a heart attack, on Sunday December 10, 2006 at the venerable age of 91, Sicily lamented unexpectedly the death of Cardinal Salvatore Pappalardo, Archbishop Emeritus of Palermo who passed away during the early hours of that same day at the age of 88.
Born on September 23, 1918 in the small town Villafranca Sicula, diocese of Agrigento in Sicily, future Cardinal Salvatore Pappalardo studied for priesthood at the Pontifical Roman Seminary; at the Pontifical Gregorian University; at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and later at the Pontifical Lateran Athenaeum - all faculties found in Rome.
Pappalardo was ordained priest on April 12, 1941 in Rome by Msgr. Luigi Traglia (1895-1977), Titular Archbishop of Cesarea di Palestina and Vice-Gerent of Rome, future Cardinal Vicar General of Rome and Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. In the same ceremony was ordained Msgr. Giovanni Canestri (1918- ), future Cardinal Archbishop of Genoa. Following his priesthood ordination, Reverend Pappalardo pursued further studies between 1942 and 1947. He was appointed as a Staff Member of the Secretariat of State in 1947, a position he held till 1965. On June 21, 1951, Pappalardo was named Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness, and was later reappointed on October 28, 1958.
Msgr. Pappalardo gave pastoral work in the diocese of Rome between 1949 and 1965 and was appointed Faculty Member of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and of the Pontifical Lateran University. He was also named as Domestic Prelate of His Holiness on May 19, 1961.
On December 7, 1965, Pappalardo was elected Titular Archbishop of Mileto and appointed Pro-Nuncio in Indonesia. His Consecration took place at the Chapel of the Major Roman Seminary on January 16, 1966, by Cardinal Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (1883-1973), Bishop of the title of the Suburbicarian See of Frascati, Secretary of State, assisted by Guido Luigi Bentivoglio, S.O.C., (1899-1978), Archbishop of Catania, and by Antonio Samore (1905-1983), Titular Archbishop of Trinovo, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs and future Cardinal.
After four years of work in Jakarta, Pappalardo was named President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy on May 7, 1969 and shortly afterwards was transferred to the Metropolitan See of Palermo on October 17, 1970, aged at the time 52.
Sicilian born Msgr. Francesco Carpino (1905-1993), had recently resigned the government of the Archdiocese of Palermo, explaining that an Archdiocese with many and difficult pastoral problems needed a young Archbishop with fresh energies to prepare a vast program for a long term. Pappalardo was in turn chosen as his Successor.
