Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mar 4, 2008 / 04:07 pm (CNA).- The cause of beatification of Cardinal Eduardo Pironio, who died in 1998, could move ahead if the cure of 15 month-old boy who suffered from paint poisoning is declared miraculous.

The vice postulator of the cause, Beatriz Buzzetti Thomson, is responsible for investigating the complete cure of the child, whose identity has not been revealed and is two and a half years old.

According to local reporters, after the accident, the parents of the child prayed for the intercession of Cardinal Pironio.  The child improved and was released from the hospital despite doctors’ assurances that if he survived, he would suffer long-term complications.

The prayer, which the parents found on the back of a holy card and has been approved by the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina, reads as follows:

God, our Father, you called your servant Eduardo Francisco Pironio to serve your Church as a priest and a bishop, comforted by the maternal care of the Virgin Mary, you made him a joyful proclaimer of hope and the cross.  Grant us that, following his example, we may proclaim and give witness to our faith with a merciful and welcoming heart and, through his intercession, give us the grace that we confidently ask of you.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
 
His Life
 
Eduardo Francisco Pironio was born in the town of Nueve de Julio, Argentina, on December 3, 1920.  He was the 22nd child of a family of Italian immigrants.

At the age of 18 he entered the seminary of La Plata.  He studied theology in Europe and was rector of the seminary of Buenos Aires and later dean of theology at the Catholic University of Argentina.

He was auxiliary bishop of La Plata, bishop of Avellaneda and bishop of Mar del Plata.  He also worked as secretary and president of the Latin American Bishops’ Council.

He was made a cardinal by Paul VI in 1976.  During the last phase of the government of Maria Estela Martinez de Peron and the military dictatorship that followed, he received death threats and was transferred to Rome.

He participated in the conclaves that elected John Paul I and John Paul II.  John Paul II named him president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 1984, a post he held until 1996.  He was one of the architects of World Youth Day.  He also served as prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and of Societies of Apostolic Life.

He died in Rome on February 5, 1998 from bone cancer and is buried at the shrine of Our Lady of Lujan in Argentina.  His cause for beatification was opened on June 23, 2006.

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