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His Eminence Alberto Bovone
Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Appointed	13 June 1995
Term ended	17 April 1998
Predecessor	Angelo Felici
Successor	José Saraiva Martins
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Deacon of Ognissanti in Via Appia Nuova (1998)
Previous post(s)	Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1973-1984) Titular Archbishop of Cesarea in Numidia (1984-1998) Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1984-1995)
Orders
Ordination	26 May 1945 by Giuseppe Angrisani
Consecration	12 May 1984 by Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Created cardinal	21 February 1998 by Pope John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Born	Alberto Bovone 11 June 1922 Frugarolo, Kingdom of Italy
Died	17 April 1998(1998-04-17) (aged 75) Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic, Rome, Italy
Alma mater	Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Motto	Fidelis et prudens ("Faithful and prudent")
Coat of arms

Styles of Alberto Bovone
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	none

Alberto Bovone (11 June 1922 – 17 April 1998) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1995 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1998.

Alberto Bovone was born in Frugarolo, and attended the seminary in Alessandria. Ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1945, he then did pastoral work for a year before continuing his studies from 1946 until 1951 at the University of Turin and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome (where he obtained his doctorate in canon law). Bovone entered the Roman Curia as an official of the Congregation for the Council in October 1951, and was later made Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 21 May 1973.

Pope John Paul II named him Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Numidia on 5 April 1984 and Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three days later, on 8 April. Bovone received his episcopal consecration on the following 12 May from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, with Bishop Ferdinando Maggioni and Archbishop Luigi Dadaglio serving as co-consecrators. Bovone was the first person ordained as a Bishop by Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict XVI.

As Secretary of the Doctrine of the Faith, he was the second-highest official of that dicastery, under Cardinal Ratzinger. In 1987, he helped write the instruction Donum vitae on the respect for human life.

Bovone was later appointed to head the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints on 13 June 1995. As he had yet to be raised to the College of Cardinals, he only held the title of Pro-Prefect of the congregation, until John Paul II created him Cardinal- Deacon of Ognissanti in Via Appia Nuova in the consistory of 21 February 1998, and Bovone became full Prefect of the Causes of the Saints two days later, on 23 February.

The Cardinal died in Rome two months later, at the age of 75. He is buried in his family's plot in Frugarolo.

References

1. III, Harris M. Lentz (2015-07-11). Popes and Cardinals of the 20th Century: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4766-2155-5.
2. Reese, Thomas J. (1992). A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 262. ISBN 978-1-55612-557-7.
3. "Alberto Bovone, Italian Cardinal, 75". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1998-04-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-04.

External links

• Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
• Catholic-Hierarchy
• John Paul II's Homily at Cardinal Bovone's Funeral Mass

• 1922 births
• 1998 deaths
• 20th-century Italian cardinals
• 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops
• Members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
• Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
• Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II
• People from Frugarolo