Francesco Colasuonno

Francesco Cardinal Colasuonno ( born January 2, 1925 in Grumo Appula, Bari, Italy Province; † May 31, 2003 ibid ) was Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and San Marino.

Life

Colasuonno attended the seminary of Bari and received on 28 September 1947, the sacrament of Holy Orders. He studied at the University of Bari and the Pontifical Gregorian University. Francesco Colasuonno doctorate in Catholic theology and canon law. Later he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Pope Paul VI. gave him on 21 June 1963 honorary title Surplus secret chamberlain of His Holiness ( Monsignor ) and on 17 October 1971 title of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness.

On December 6, 1974, he was named Paul VI. appointed Titular Archbishop of Truentum and apostolic delegate in Mozambique. He received his episcopal consecration on February 9, 1975 Corrado Cardinal Ursi; Co-consecrators were later Cardinals Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy and Anastasio Alberto Ballestrero. In the following years, he was first Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in Zimbabwe ( 1981-85 ) and of Yugoslavia ( 1985-86 ), later Apostolic Nuncio in Poland ( 1986-1990), Apostolic Delegate in the Russian Federation (1990-1994 ), and Apostolic Nuncio in Italy (1994-1998) and San Marino ( 1995-1998).

Before and during the fall of communism in Eastern Europe Colasuonno was also responsible for other communist states such as Czechoslovakia from Poland, where the Catholic Church strong repression and surveillance was exposed to their priests. Nevertheless, it was possible that the Communists the three ordinations of 11-12. In June 1988 agreed, in which Colasuonno main or Mitkonsekrator was: Jan Lebeda, Antonín Liska, Ján Sokol. In August and September 1989, he also inaugurated Vaňák František, Josef Koukl František Tondra.

He also inaugurated in Eastern Europe and for the bishops Gheorghi Jovcev Ivanov (Bulgaria, July 1988), Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (Belarus, October 1989), György Miklós Jakubinyi (Romania, April 1990), Pál stimulator (Romania, May 1990 ), John Bukovsky (Romania, October 1990 ), Jan Purwinski (Ukraine, March 1991), John Paul lenga (Kazakhstan, May 1991), Jānis Pujats (Latvia, June 1991), Joseph Werth (Russia, June 1991), Jānis Bulis (Latvia, June 1991),

Pope John Paul II took Colasuonno on 21 February 1998 as a cardinal deacon with the title Diakonia Sant'Eugenio in the College of Cardinals to.

Cardinal Colasounno died on 31 May 2003 in Grumo Appula and was buried in the local parish church.