Memorial Mass
On Saturday, November 23, 2024, H.E. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, together with Deputy Permanent Observer Monsignor Robert Murphy and Father Mark Knestout, celebrated a heartfelt Mass at the Church of the Holy Family in loving remembrance of His Eminence Cardinal Renato Martino, who passed away on October 28, 2024. The Mass offered a time for reflection and prayer, bringing together family, friends, and members of the community to honor his remarkable life, his profound contributions, and the lasting impact of his spiritual leadership.
Biography
Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, was born on 23 November 1932 in Salerno, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 20 June 1957 and holds a doctorate in canon law.
He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1962 and worked in the Nunciatures in Nicaragua, The Philippines, Lebanon, Canada and Brazil. Between 1970-75 Cardinal Martino served in the Secretariat of State. On 14 September 1980 he was appointed titular Archbishop of Segermes and Nuncio in Thailand and Apostolic Delegate in Singapore, Malaysia, Laos and Brunei, and was consecrated on 14 December 1980 by the then Secretary of State, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli. In 1986 he was appointed Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York. In 1991 he founded the Path to Peace Foundation to further the Holy See’s mission at the U.N.
After 16 years of service as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the U.N. Organization, in October 2002 he was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Created and proclaimed Cardinal by St. John Paul II in the Consistory of 21 October 2003, of the Deaconry of S. Francesco di Paola ai Monti (St. Francis of Paola ai Monti).
On 25 October 2004, under the guidance of Cardinal Martino, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace published the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
On 11 March 2006, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation, due to the limitation of age, of Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and united the presidency of said Council with that of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace. Hence, Cardinal Martino was nominated President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.
President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, 28 February 2009.
President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 24 October 2009.
He participated in the conclave of April 2005, which elected Pope Benedict XVI.
He became Cardinal Protodeacon on 12 June 2014.
Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino died on 28 Ocotber 2024.
Telegram of the Holy Father
The following is the telegram of condolence on the death on Monday 28 October 2024 of His Eminence Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, protodeacon of San Francesco di Paola ai Monti, sent by the Holy Father Francis to the late Cardinal’s brother, Marcello Martino:
ON LEARNING OF THE NEWS OF THE DEATH OF YOUR BROTHER, CARDINAL RENATO RAFFAELE MARTINO, I WISH TO EXPRESS MY CONDOLENCES TO YOU, TO ALL HIS FAMILY AND TO THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SALERNO-CAMPAGNA-ACERNO OF WHICH HE WAS A RESPECTED PRESBYTER. AS I REMEMBER THIS ZEALOUS PASTOR WHO SERVED THE GOSPEL AND THE CHURCH, I THINK WITH GRATITUDE OF HIS LONG AND DILIGENT COLLABORATION WITH MY PREDECESSORS AS APOSTOLIC NUNCIO TO A NUMBER OF ASIAN COUNTRIES AND ESPECIALLY TO THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION, WHERE HE SPARED NO ENERGY TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE POPE'S PATERNAL CONCERN FOR THE FATE OF HUMANITY, AND FINALLY AS PRESIDENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE. IN THE VARIOUS ROLES ENTRUSTED TO HIM, HE WORKED WITH GREAT DYNAMISM FOR THE GOOD OF PEOPLES, CONSTANTLY PROMOTING DIALOGUE AND CONCORD. I ASK THE LORD TO WELCOME THIS FAITHFUL SERVANT OF HIS TO THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM AND FROM MY HEART I IMPART MY BLESSING TO THOSE WHO MOURN HIS DEPARTURE, WITH A GRATEFUL THOUGHT FOR THOSE WHO CARED FOR HIM.
FRANCIS
Funeral Mass
In the afternoon of Wednesday 30 October, at the Altar of the Chair in St.Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, celebrated the funeral, together with thirty Cardinals and twelve Bishops.
The celebration was attended by numerous members of the extended Martino family, many Diplomats accredited to the Holy See, Religious and lay people, including Vatican employees, who had known Cardinal Martino over the years.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and President of the Path to Peace Foundation, was also present at the funeral, representing those who knew and appreciated the Cardinal in New York.
At the end of the celebration, Pope Francis presided over the rite of Ultima Commendatio and Valedictio.
Homily
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re
“Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's” (Rm 14, 8). These comforting words, which resonated in the first reading, remind us of the true meaning of our life and death. They illuminate our faith and sustain our hope in this moment in which, gathered in prayer around the altar of the Lord, we bid our final fraternal farewell to Cardinal Renato Martino, whom the Lord called to Himself at the age of 92.
He had suffered health problems for a long time and was no longer able to leave his home. Until recently, however, he celebrated Mass every morning, concelebrating with a priest friend who would visit him. About ten days ago, the Cardinal asked to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
As his strength was diminishing, Cardinal Martino welcomed his decline with the serenity of someone who knows that dying means entering eternal happiness. In fact, our life does not end in the tomb, but in the Father’s house. Death is God calling to eternal life. This certainty illuminated his entire existence, which was totally spent in the service of the Church, the Holy See and the Pope.
He was an open and serene person, endowed with a great capacity for relationships and dialogue. One day he confided that, reading “The Betrothed” (Alessandro Manzoni’s masterpiece) in his high school years, he had been fascinated by the figure of Fra’ Cristoforo and that, from then on maintained throughout his life the firm resolve to always stand in favor of people oppressed in their rights and in support of the weakest.
Born in Salerno in 1932, he was ordained priest in 1957. Having obtained a degree in Canon Law, he immediately entered the service of the Holy See and worked in the Nunciatures in Nicaragua, the Philippines, Lebanon, Canada and Brazil. He then became head of the Section of the Secretariat of State for International Organizations.
In 1980 he was appointed Pro-Nuncio to Thailand and Apostolic Delegate to Singapore, Malaysia and Laos. Subsequently, for 16 years, he was at the United Nations in New York as the Permanent Observer of the Holy See, where he spared no energy in witnessing to the Pope’s concern for the fate and good of humanity.
Various interventions of his at UN Assemblies had notable impact, dealing with important topics, from disarmament to development, from poverty to the promotion of human rights, from the defense of religious freedom to the rescue of refugees, from peace to human values.
In October 2002 he was called by Pope John Paul II to lead the Pontifical Council Justitia et Pax. He immediately set to work to complete and then publish the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, begun by his predecessor, Cardinal François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân.
In those years, he demonstrated great sensitivity to social problems and the defense of human rights, and made many trips to contribute to various meetings, joyfully dedicating himself especially to the defense of the family and peace.
In 2005, in collaboration with various Catholic universities, he promoted an International Congress in the Vatican to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the conciliar Constitution Gaudium et Spes.
Following the unification of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People with that of Justitia et Pax, he worked enthusiastically on behalf of migrants, promoting various initiatives. He oversaw the publication of the document “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road.”
He was created cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the 2003 Consistory. In 2014 he became Cardinal Protodeacon.
In the variety of offices he held, the spirit that animated him and his zeal in service of the Pope and the Holy See remained identical, as was his continuous commitment to seeking the good of humanity.
The good of the Church and the common good were the goal and passion of his entire life. And hope in eternal life was the joyful perspective with which he lived his days.
We, gathered around his body, implore God’s mercy for Cardinal Martino, in which he always believed and hoped.
In the Gospel, we heard the words of Jesus Christ: “believe in God, believe also in me. […]And when I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” They are words pronounced during the Last Supper, when the Apostles were about to face the apparent failure of Jesus through his death on the cross. “When I have prepared a place for you I will return and take you with me.” We too cling to these words of the Gospel, as we offer the Holy Mass for the deceased Cardinal, asking God to grant us also to continue our earthly journey in unwavering faithfulness in service of the Church and our brothers and sisters.
At the end of this Eucharistic celebration, after the blessing of the body, which will be imparted by the Holy Father, the choir will sing: “In Paradisum deducant te Angeli, in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres et perducant te in sanctam civitatem Jerusalem” (May the angels lead you into paradise, may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you into the holy city of Jerusalem).
This is also our prayer for dear Cardinal Raffaele [Renato] Martino who, by faithfully serving the Church, served Christ.
Cardinal martino and the Path to Peace Foundation
In 1991, due to the need for expanded humanitarian and conciliatory activities which go beyond the strictly diplomatic parameters of the Holy See Mission to the United Nations, Archbishop Renato R. Martino established the Path to Peace Foundation.
The Foundation, independent from, but in collaboration with the Holy See Mission, directs its activities primarily to the international stage of the United Nations. Its principal purpose is the spreading of the message of peace by which the Catholic Church, through the words and activities of the Pope and of the Holy See, strives to “guide our steps into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:79).
The Path to Peace Foundation, whose President is the sitting Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, currently Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, accomplishes this goal by disseminating information and documentation on statements and initiatives of the Holy Father, the Holy See and Catholic organizations aimed at building a world of justice, charity and peace.
Likewise, it initiates programs such as conferences, seminars, lectures, etc., to study the social teachings of the Church, as well as promoting initiatives of a cultural nature, touching on the Christian heritage of art, music and the humanities. Furthermore, the Foundation fosters projects of a religious, conciliatory, humanitarian and charitable nature with a view to promoting fundamental human rights by calling attention to specific emergency needs arising in different parts of the world.
In calling attention to the poor and suffering the Foundation has been involved in emergency assistance and pastoral care for refugees and displaced persons in East Asia and the Middle East, donated seed money for self-help projects in hospices caring for those afflicted with leprosy, and collaborated in health projects for African children affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as other important humanitarian efforts.
Clearly, the endeavors of the Path to Peace Foundation — like those of the Holy See Mission — are multi-faceted, ranging in scope from presentations on important cultural events to outreach to the poor and suffering throughout the world. It is unique in that its audience is international in character, which enables its work to have far-reaching effects. In a true sense, then, the world is its parish and the nations are its parishioners.
Additionally, the Foundation plays a key role in supporting the work of the Holy See Mission at the United Nations. This includes sustaining the internship program, which in its current form since 2015, has welcomed more than 162 interns from 39 countries, and also the attachés, young lay people directly involved in negotiation processes.
The Path to Peace also supports the organization of the Annual UN Prayer Service, which brings together representatives from Permanent Missions to the United Nations as well as representatives of the UN System at Holy Family Parish. The evening of prayer marks the commencement of each year's Session of the General Assembly. Moreover, a series of side events on major topics (for example on human trafficking, artificial intelligence, women in leadership, surrogacy, and humanitarian issues) has been organized with the support from the Foundation.
At a special event held each year the Path to Peace Foundation honors an individual whose life and work have dramatically affected the world community for the better. The first Path to Peace Award was bestowed in 1993 upon H.E. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General of the United Nations.
The coat of arms of His Eminence Cardinal Renato Martino
