Loris Francesco Capovilla

Loris Francesco Capovilla (14 October 1915 – 26 May 2016) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and a cardinal. At his death, he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop from Italy and the fourth oldest in the world. At the time of his elevation to the rank of cardinal in 2014, he was the oldest member of the College of Cardinals.

He served as the personal secretary to Pope John XXIII from 1958 to 1963.

Biography

Early life and priesthood

Capovilla was born in Pontelongo in 1915 as the son of Rodolfo Capovilla and Letizia Callegaro. He had one sister, Lia. He was baptized in Pontelongo. His father later died in 1922 and this in turn led Capovilla to move to Mestre in 1929 following a period of precariousness and wandering.

Capovilla studied at the Patriarchal Seminary of Venice and was later ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Venice on 23 May 1940 by Cardinal Piazza, the Patriarch of Venice.

Capovilla received a dispensation and did not attend the consistory where he was named cardinal. He said: "I'm not strong enough and I feel uncomfortable at the thought of meeting so many people." He was named Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

He died in Bergamo on 26 May 2016. For his entire cardinalate, he was the oldest living Cardinal.

In 1964, he published a memoir, The Heart and Mind of John XXIII: His Secretary's Intimate Recollection (published by Hawthorn Books). As of 2013, he resided in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, about northeast of Milan.