VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The oldest member of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, died in Rome at the age of 98.
The late cardinal had been hospitalised since the end of June after a fall, and he suffered further complications from Covid-19. He returned to his Vatican apartment on August 6 for continued care and died early on August 8.
In a telegram with his condolences published by the Vatican later the same day, Pope Francis praised “this esteemed and wise brother who, sustained by deep faith and great foresight, served the Gospel and the Church with humility and self-sacrifice”.
The Pope praised the late cardinal for his long and fruitful service and for his devotion and witness, exemplified by his praying the rosary every evening in St Peter’s Square.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica on August 11, and his remains will be buried at St Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice, Slovakia.
He served nearly 16 years as the head of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, which was responsible for coordinating church activities in mission territories, especially Africa and Asia, as well as in New Zealand (which is regarded as a mission territory by the Church). After he retired in 2001, at the age of 77, he was appointed president of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, until retiring in 2007.
Pope Benedict XVI continued to rely on the retired cardinal’s expertise, appointing him in 2010 to the Vatican commission studying the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In 2012, Pope Benedict appointed him and two other cardinals to lead a wide-ranging investigation into the so-called “Vatileaks scandal,” a series of leaks of letters exchanged among Vatican officials and between the officials and the Pope himself. The cardinals were tasked with helping the Pope understand the reasons behind the leaks and the problems they appeared to indicate.
As titular cardinal of the Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome’s Aventine Hill, it was Cardinal Tomko who distributed ashes to the Pope at the traditional Ash Wednesday Mass there.
He served that role for the past three popes, starting in 1996, and he once said he found it “truly difficult” to have to recite to each pope the formula, “Repent and believe in the Gospel!”
“He’s the one who has the full right to say that to me and everyone else,” Cardinal Tomko said.
When Cardinal Tomko became head of the evangelization congregation, he travelled extensively to mission territories, and he helped support the establishment of nearly 180 new dioceses.
Despite his many responsibilities at the Vatican, the late cardinal remained active in pastoral ministry at a number of parishes in Rome. He also was active on an international level in the area of ecumenism, serving as delegate of the Holy See at the World Lutheran Federation and the World Council of Churches in Geneva in 1972. He was part of the executive committee of the Pontifical Mission Societies focusing on challenges facing consecrated life, the laity, and justice and peace.
His death leaves the College of Cardinals with 206 members, 116 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave.
Photo: Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko is pictured at the Vatican in this November 19, 2010, file photo (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Respectful farewell to Cardinal Jozef Tomko. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon the departed soul.