Vatican City, Aug 29, 2019 / 11:15 am
Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, former prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches and a long-time Vatican diplomat, died at his home in the Vatican Aug. 29 at the age of 95.
Silvestrini served in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See in Rome and abroad for nearly 35 years, before being named prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and later prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, where he served until his retirement in 2000.
Silvestrini was born in Brisighella, Italy in 1923. Ordained a priest in 1946, at age 30 he entered the diplomatic service in the Vatican's Section for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Secretariat of State, dealing with the problems of Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and South-East Asia.
He was a collaborator to the secretaries of state Cardinals Domenico Tardini and Amleto G. Cicogani, and later was put in charge of the International Organizations Sector.