Piero Marini

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Styles of Piero Marini
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	none

Piero Marini (born 13 Jan 1942) is a Roman Catholic archbishop, currently serving as the President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, having previously served for 20 years, as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations. He was responsible for the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff and worked for Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor Pope John Paul II. He was born in Valverde, Italy and was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church on 27 June 1965. He holds a doctorate in liturgy from the Benedictine-run College of Sant’Anselmo [1].

In 1975, Marini began as the personal secretary of Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, the controversial chief architect of the liturgical reforms that followed Vatican II. From 1987 to 2007, Marini was the master of papal liturgical ceremonies, the man who appears at the pope's side in every celebration. He was appointed Bishop of Martirano on the 19 March 1998 and was ordained bishop on 14 February of that year. On the 29 September 2003 he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Martirano. Archbishop Marini's innovative approach to pontifical ceremonies sometimes made him the focus of criticism, and in 2005 after the election of Pope Benedict XVI it was rumored that Marini would be removed from his post and would take up an Italian diocese [2]; he reportedly declined the offer, preferring instead to work within the Roman Curia.

The casket of Pope John Paul II borne on the shoulders of the Papal Gentlemen. Archbishop Marini (far right) acting in his capacity as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations during the Funeral of Pope John Paul II.

There were rumours that the archbishop was in hospital in late March 2006. No official statement, however, was made. The common belief is that his illness is cardiac related^{[citation needed]}.

On 1 October 2007 after twenty years as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Pope Benedict appointed Archbishop Marini to the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. This body has the task, according to Pastor Bonus, of making "ever better known, loved and served, Our Lord Jesus Christ in his Eucharistic Mystery, as centre of the life of the Church and of its mission for the salvation of the world” through the celebration of International Eucharistic Congresses".

Sources have noted that the timing of Marini’s departure may be linked to the July 2007 decision by Pope Benedict to liberalise permission for the Tridentine Mass, the Rite of Mass most commonly used in the Latin Church from 1570 until 1969. Although Marini never took a public position on the move, it is widely known that he has expressed reservations in private. Since it is taken for granted in Rome that Benedict XVI will himself celebrate a Mass according to the old rite in St. Peter’s Basilica in the near future, the move of Marini may have been a way to avoid putting him in an awkward position when the time comes[3].

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Piero Marini