"Illustrious" Cardinal Stickler dies

Alfons Maria Cardinal Stickler SDB died yesterday, aged 97. Earlier this year, he celebrated the 70th anniversary of his priestly ordination.

Gillibrand at Catholic Church Conservation has a translation of his obituary in Der Standard (Cardinal Stickler, one of the all time great cardinals has died).

The Cardinal was always a friend of the traditional liturgy. Here is a link to an address that he gave to the Latin Mass Society at its annual meeting in 1992. Summorum Pontificum was a vindication of his consistently held position that the old rite of Mass had never been abrogated.

His book The Case for Clerical Celibacy, published by Ignatius, was an accessible summary of the conclusions reached by the research of Cochini, Cholij and others on the question. He made the telling point:

These studies have either not yet penetrated the general consciousness or they have been hushed up if they were capable of influencing that consciousness in undesirable ways

Here is the announcement of the Holy Father's telegrams of condolence from today's Vatican Information Service:

VATICAN CITY, DEC 13, 2007 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent two telegrams of condolence for the death, at the age of 97, of Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler S.D.B., archivist and librarian emeritus of Holy Roman Church: one to the late cardinal's brother and sisters, and another to Fr. Pascual Chavez Villanueva, major rector of the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco.

The Holy Father describes the cardinal as a "sincere and zealous collaborator of the Holy See" who in all his duties "provided precious testimony of fervent faithfulness to Christ and to the Church." He also mentions the "cultural and ecclesial industriousness of the distinguished jurist and illustrious cardinal."

Full text of the telegrams (Italian)

The office of Liturgical Celebrations has announced that the funeral will take place tomorrow, at 5pm in St Peter's, at the Altar of the Chair, presided over by the Holy Father.

Requiescat in pace