In remembrance of Card. Pironio

5 February is the 20th death anniversary of Card. Eduardo Francisco Pironio (1920 – 1998), whose cause of canonization is underway. Born in Nueve de Julio, Argentina, and the 23rd son of a family of Italian origin, he was ordained priest in 1943. Pironio first became full bishop in Ceciri, and later in La Plata, he became secretary general and them president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference. He was called to Rome by Pope Paul VI, who appointed him as Cardinal in 1976. John Paul II appointed him President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and in his capacity as such and with the Decree of 29 June 1990, Card. Pironio delivered to Chiara Lubich, the definitive approval of the general Statutes of the Work of Mary (Focolare Movement).
The celebrations started with a mass in the national shrine of Nuestra Señora de Luján on 4 February, promoted in his honour by the Argentinean Catholic Action. The central events will take place next 31 May in Buenos Aires. The Focolare Movement joins all with gratitude, in commemorating one of the most outstanding figures of recent ecclesial history.