THE DEATH OF A PRESIDENT

SPIRITUALMENTE VICINO IN QUESTO MOMENTO DI DOLORE PER LA MORTE DEL LORO GENITORE SENATORE FRANCESCO COSSIGA GIÀ PRESIDENTE DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA DESIDERO PORGERE LE MIE PIÙ SENTITE CONDOGLIANZE CON L’ASSICURAZIONE DELLA MIA SINCERA PARTECIPAZIONE AL GRAVE LUTTO CHE COLPISCE ANCHE L’INTERA NAZIONE ITALIANA (.) NEL RICORDARE CON AFFETTO E GRATITUDINE QUESTO ILLUSTRE UOMO CATTOLICO DI STATO INSIGNE STUDIOSO DEL DIRITTO E DELLA SPIRITUALITÀ CRISTIANA CHE NELLE PUBBLICHE RESPONSABILITÀ RICOPERTE SEPPE ADOPERARSI CON GENEROSO IMPEGNO PER LA PROMOZIONE DEL BENE COMUNE ELEVO FERVIDE PREGHIERE DI SUFFRAGIO INVOCANDO PER LA SUA ANIMA DALLA DIVINA BONTÀ LA PACE ETERNA E DI CUORE IMPARTO AI FAMILIARI TUTTI LA CONFORTATRICE BENEDIZIONE APOSTOLICA

Spiritually close in this time of sadness for the death of your Father, Senator Francesco Cossiga, former President of the Republic of Italy, I desire to add my heartfelt condolences with the assurance of my genuine sharing in the great loss the has struck also the entire Italian nation…

I include and translate only the beginning of the telegram of condolence sent by Pope Benedict XVI to the family of former Italian President Francesco Cossiga because I want to add my own memory to a special event that actually ties in with the upcoming beatification of John Henry (Cardinal) Newman.
The great Newman scholar Fr Ian Ker was invited (I was part of the inviting team) to speak at the North American College (this was in 1991, just after the centenary of Newman’s death). As a courtesy we invited the Rectors of all the English-speaking seminaries in Rome, and since he’d actually spent a summer in Oxford with Fr Ker, we also made a token invitation to then-President Cossiga. Who knew he would accept the invitation to come?!
Shortly before the event I was summoned to the main entrance of the College (Firmum Est, as it is known) to meet a team of security; they wanted to check out the entirety of our ground floor complex and the auditorium where the event would take place. I had to be their “tour-guide” through our seminary. I was also informed that the talk could not begin when advertised, for security reasons—there would have to be a 15 minute delay. More on that, later.
It then turned out that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger heard about the lecture and because of his own great interest in Newman, he also wanted to attend. Now we had TWO major figures to take care of. They had to be seated in specially placed seats in front (emphatically not in the fixed seating of the auditorium). And I was expected to do a 15-min “tap dance” in front of perhaps 2,000 folks while the security guards’ sense of timing was observed.
I don’t know how much of Fr Ker’s talk either of them could actually follow since 1. it was on a more obscure point of Newman’s thoughts on education, and 2. he had to cram a 60 min talk into 45 min, thanks to the security requirements for President Cossiga. But finally all went off swimmingly.
My job being what it was, I had the opportunity to meet and hand-shake neither the Italian President nor the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. But they seemed happy enough to be there together, and that was all that mattered.
So I have no doubts that Pope Benedict’s heart-felt condolences were utterly sincere and prompted by events like the one I have just described. May the Lord in His mercy grant him peace until the Day of joy we are promised in Him.