Vatican City, Apr 3, 2009 / 09:09 am
This morning Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter of condolence to Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo O.F.M., minister general of the Order of Friars Minor, after the death of Cardinal Umberto Betti O.F.M., former rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. Cardinal Betti died on April 1 at the age of 87.
According to Catholic Hierarchy, Betti was born on March 7, 1922 in Italy and professed his first vows to the Order of Friars Minor at the age of 16, later becoming a priest at 24. After 61 years of being a priest, Benedict XVI elevated him to cardinal at the age of 85.