Pope Francis sent a telegram of condolence on the death, yesterday, Sunday, October 3, 2021, of Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, of the title of Saint Saba, reported today, Monday, October 4, the Holy See Press Office.
In the telegram, sent to Monsignor Alberto Ortega Martin, Apostolic Nuncio in Chile, the Holy Father expresses his sense of grief to the members of the family of the deceased Prelate and to the faithful of the churches of Rancagua and Valparaiso in which he served as Pastor.” Likewise, he remembers this “abnegated Prelate that, for years and with fidelity, gave his life at the service of God and of the universal Church.”
Finally, after remembering that he served in the Congregation for Divine Worship, the Pope offers “intercessory prayers for the eternal rest of his soul, so that the Lord will grant him the crown of glory that does not wither,” and he imparts to all his “Apostolic Blessing, as a sign of Christian hope in the Risen Lord.”
Cardinal Medina Estevez
Was born on December 23, 1926, in Santiago de Chile. He did his primary and secondary studies at the German Lyceum of Santiago. Before entering the Seminary, he attended the Faculty of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He obtained a Baccalaureate in Arts and Biology.
He studied in the Minor Seminary of Santiago, in Santiago, and in the Pontifical Catholic University of Santiago (Licentiate in Letters and Biology; Ph.D. in Theology in 1955 and in Canon Law). He was ordained a priest on June 12, 1954, and was a Member of the faculty of the Major Seminary of Santiago de Chile. He attended Vatican Council II from 1962 to 1965, as an expert. Judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal, Pro-Grand Chancellor of the Catholic University of Santiago, and Penitentiary Canon of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, he was a Consultor of several Vatican Dicasteries.
Until 1965, he taught Philosophy in the Seminary and, until 1994, Theology in the Faculty of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he served for several years as Dean. Pope John Paul II appointed him Titular Bishop of Tibili and Auxiliary of Rancagua on December 18, 1984. He was consecrated Bishop by Pope John Paul II on January 6, 1985, in Vatican City, and was moved to the See of Rancagua on November 25, 1987, and to the See of Valparaiso on April 16, 1993.
On June 21, 1996, he was appointed Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He resigned from the pastoral government of the diocese on June 21, 1996, and was promoted to Archbishop on September 19, 1996. He attended the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City from November 16 to December 12, 1997.
He was created Cardinal Dean on February 21, 1998. And received the red biretta and diakonia of Saint Saba on February 21, 1998, as well as appointed Prefect on February 23, 1998. He attended the Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City from April 19 to May 18, 1998; the Special Assembly for Oceania of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City from November 22 to December 12, 1998, and the Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City, from October 1-23, 1999.
He was the Pope’s Special Envoy to Mexico’s National Eucharistic Congress in Mexico City from May 5-7, 2000 and the 20th International Marian-Mariological Congress in Rome from September 15 to 24, 2000. He was the Pope’s Special Envoy at the opening of the celebrations of the Plenary Council of Venezuela in Caracas on November 26, 2000. And attended to 10th Ordinary Assembly of the World Synod of Bishops in Vatican City between September 30 and October 27, 2001. He resigned from the Prefecture of the Congregation on October 1, 2002.
On February 24, 2005, he was appointed Proto-Deacon of the College of Cardinals and took part in the Conclave on April 18-19, 2005. As Cardinal Proto-Deacon he announced the name of the recently elected Benedict XVI and in the ceremony of initiation of his pontificate he imposed on him the Archbishop’s pallium on April 24, 2005. He was Pope Benedict XVI’s Special Envoy at the closing ceremony of Venezuela’s Plenary Council in Caracas on October 7, 2007.
In the Roman Curia, he was a member of the Congregations for the Clergy, for the Doctrine of the Faith, and for Bishops. He was a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family and of the Commissions for Latin America and Ecclesia Dei. He was also a member of the International Theological Commission and of the Commission in charge of elaborating the draft of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
He was the author of numerous works: books, theological-pastoral pamphlets, and articles on ecclesiological subjects, spirituality, and Canon law. In 1996 he received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and, due to his teachings and publications, he received a Doctor Scientiae and Honoris Causa from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He was also appointed Chaplain ad honorem of the Sovereign Military Order of Saint John’s Hospital of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta.
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
