The centenary of his birth
by Gianni Cardinale
On 27 June a commemorative seminar for the centenary of
the birth of Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez (born 27 September 1907,
died 9 April 1999, Archbishop of Santiago del Cile from 1961 to 1983) was held in the Pontifical Salesian
University (PSU). The event was orgaized by the faculty of Canon Law of the
Athenaeum, led by the Dean, Don Sabino Ardito, and by the Embassy of Chile
to the Holy See. Numerous ecclesiastics and lay figures attended, among
them the vice-dean of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See,
Ambassador of Honduras Alejandro Emilio Valladares Lanza. After the
speeches of welcome given by Don Mario Toso, Rector of the PSU, by the
Chilean Ambassador Pablo Cabrera Gaete and by Don Pascual Chávez
Villanueva, Senior Rector of the Salesians, the Salesian Cardinal Oscar
Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa gave a
speech on “Poverty and human development”. Subsequently Don
Natale Vitali, Salesian Inspector of Chile, Monsignor Ricardo Ezzati,
Salesian Archbishop of Concepción, and Doctor Ascanio Cavallo,
journalist, editor of the Memorias del cardenal
Raúl Silva Henríquez, spoke. The
morning was closed with an impromptu speech – which is reproduced
here – by the Cardinal Secretary of State, the Salesian Tarcisio
Bertone. The complete acts of the day dedicated to Cardinal Silva
Henríquez are published by LAS, the publishing house of the SPU,
edited by Don David Albornoz and Don Toso.