Silvano Piovanelli

Silvano Piovanelli (21 February 1924 – 9 July 2016) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Florence from 1983 to 2001, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985.

Biography Silvano Piovanelli was born in Borgo San Lorenzo, in the province of Florence, on 21 February 1924. He studied at the seminary of Florence from 1935 to 1947, and was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Elia Dalla Costa on 13 July 1947. He then served as a curate in the industrial town of Rifredi until October 1948, when he became vice-rector of minor seminary of Florence. He resumed his pastoral ministry in 1961 as a parish priest in Castelfiorentino, and was raised to the rank of Chaplain of His Holiness on 26 October 1966. Following the unexpected death of Cardinal Benelli in October 1982, Piovanelli was promoted to Archbishop of Florence on 18 March 1983. Days before his death, he was telephoned by Pope Francis on the pontiff's visit to the city. His funeral Mass was celebrated in the late afternoon of 12 July 2016 by cardinal Giuseppe Betori and his remains were buried in Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral.