Eduardo Francisco Pironio

Eduardo Pironio actively participated in the Second Vatican Council, first as an observer during the opening session in 1962, then as an expert (peritus) from 1963 onwards. Appointed auxiliary bishop of La Plata on March 24, 1964, he received episcopal ordination on May 31 of the same year in the Basilica of Luján. He chose as his motto: "Christus in vobis spes gloriae" (Christ in you, the hope of glory, Col 1:27). He played a leading role in the Church of Latin America. As Secretary General of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) from 1968 to 1972, he actively prepared for the famous Medellín Conference (1968). He was subsequently elected president of CELAM from 1972 to 1975. Appointed bishop of Mar del Plata in 1972, he carried out a pastoral ministry there that was very close to the poor and the youth. During this period of intense political tension in Argentina, he was subjected to death threats and witnessed the kidnapping and murder of his close collaborator, Maria del Carmen Maggi, dean of the faculty of letters at the Catholic University. In 1975, Pope Paul VI called him to Rome to serve in the Roman Curia, appointing him pro-prefect (and later prefect) of the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes. He was created a cardinal during the consistory of May 24, 1976. In 1984, Saint John Paul II appointed him president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. It was in this position that he became one of the primary initiators and organizers of the first World Youth Days (WYD), from the one in Buenos Aires in 1987 to the one in Manila in 1995, which earned him the nickname "cardinal of the youth." He also actively supported the creation of the International Forum of Catholic Action (IFCA) in 1991.

After submitting his resignation due to age in 1996, Cardinal Pironio faced with great patience and deep faith bone cancer (metastases from prostate cancer) which caused him intense suffering for several years. He passed away in Rome on February 5, 1998. According to his final wishes, his remains were repatriated to Argentina to be interred in the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján. The cause for beatification and canonization was opened at the diocesan level in Rome in 2006 and concluded on March 11, 2016. On February 18, 2022, Pope Francis recognized the heroic nature of his virtues and declared him venerable. The miracle necessary for his beatification was officially approved by Pope Francis on November 8, 2023. It concerns the scientifically inexplicable healing of a 15-month-old Argentine child, Juan Manuel Franco, which occurred in December 2006 in Mar del Plata. The child had accidentally ingested and inhaled glitter (a highly toxic shiny powder), causing acute respiratory distress and severe chemical pneumonia. While his condition was deemed hopeless by doctors, his parents and loved ones prayed intensely, asking for the intercession of Cardinal Pironio, using a prayer booklet distributed during a march of hope. The child recovered in a rapid, complete, and definitive manner.

Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio was solemnly beatified on Saturday, December 16, 2023. The ceremony took place in the square in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, in Argentina, the very place where he had been ordained a priest and bishop. The celebration was presided over by the Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, who was the private secretary and close collaborator of Msgr. Pironio for more than twenty years. During the Angelus on December 17, 2023, Pope Francis honored the memory of the new blessed, describing him as a "humble and zealous pastor, a witness of hope, and a defender of the poor." His liturgical memorial is set for February 4, the eve of the anniversary of his death.

The spirituality of Blessed Eduardo Pironio is deeply rooted in the Paschal mystery and the joy of the Resurrection, which led him to be described as a "man of Easter" by his contemporaries. For him, the cross and the resurrection were inseparable, and he insisted that the Church must be essentially Paschal, radiating hope even in the midst of trials and persecutions. His legacy is also marked by a profound Marian devotion, expressed through the singing of the Magnificat, which structures his spiritual testament. In this text, he gives thanks to God for his life and his priesthood, and expresses his unfailing love for Catholic Action ("I have loved Catholic Action very much"). Pope Francis, who was his personal friend in Argentina, has often highlighted Pironio's profound humility, his ability to forgive his detractors, and his constant attention to human relationships and the accompaniment of the weakest. His role as a pioneer in the pastoral care of youth and the laity continues to inspire the universal Church through the dynamism of World Youth Day.