Vatican City, Apr 30, 2010 / 15:25 pm
Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer, priest of the Benedictine order, who headed a Vatican department dedicated to the liturgy, and then later, one dedicated to achieving reconciliation with the St. Pius X Society, died Friday morning at the age of 98.
The Holy Father remembered him in a telegram to the abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation on Friday in which he recognized the "the indelible memory" left by the cardinal "of an industrious life spent with mildness and rectitude in coherent adherence to his vocation as a monk and pastor, full of zeal for the Gospel and always faithful to the Church."
Pope Benedict further recalled Cardinal Mayer's "knowledgeable commitment in the field of the liturgy and in that of universities and seminaries, and especially his much appreciated service to the Holy See" in various roles.
He was ordained as a Benedictine priest in 1935 and later spent years dedicated to study, teaching and administration at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome. During his time as rector of the college from 1949-1966, he founded the Pontifical Liturgical Institute and participated in the Second Vatican Council.