Vatican diplomat, finance manager, dead at 90

Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Antonetti, who died last week at the age of 90, dedicated many years as a ‘diligent colleague’ at the Holy See, Pope Francis said.

The cardinal had spent more than 35 years at the service of the Vatican as a diplomat and a financial manager, and he'd been the papal delegate for the basilicas of St Francis and St Mary of the Angels in Assisi, Italy.

 The pope said everywhere the cardinal worked ‘he expressed valued testimony of fervent priestly zeal and fidelity to the Gospel.’

Pope Francis made his comments in a telegram of condolence released Wednesday at the Vatican.

Born in Romagnano Sesia in the north-western corner of Italy, Antonetti studied at the diocesan seminary in Novara before being sent to Rome for further studies. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1945.

After ordination he continued his studies in Rome, earning a degree in theology the Pontifical University of St Thomas, known as the Angelicum, and a degree in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

From 1949 to 1950, he studied at the Vatican's diplomatic academy. After a brief assignment in the Vatican Secretariat of State, he was posted to the apostolic nunciature in Lebanon, where he stayed until 1955.