Pope Francis sent a message of condolence to his ‘Jesuit brothers’ for the death of Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau, who passed away December 26 in Kamishakujii, Tokyo.
Archbishop Pittau, who was 86 years old, served as secretary for the Pontifical Congregation for Catholic Education from 1998 to 2003, held top academic posts, and was a devoted Jesuit missionary.
In the Pope’s telegram addressed to Father Adolfo Nicolas Pachon, Superior General of the Jesuit Order, Francis described Archbishop Pittau as an “exemplary minister of God” and said he “lived for the cause of the Gospel.”
Born in 1928 in the Italian town of Sardinia, Giuseppe Pittau entered the Society of Jesus in 1945 and in 1959 was ordained a priest. In 1952, he arrived in Japan as a Jesuit missionary.
In addition to recalling the “generous missionary apostleship” of the late Jesuit archbishop in Japan, the Pope thanked God for the his service to the Holy See as secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, his work as president of Tokyo’s Sophia University, as rector of Rome’s Gregorian University, and for his dedication to the Society of Jesus.
Concluding his message, the Pope entrusted the late archbishop to the maternal intercession of Mary and sent his apostolic blessing.
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Translation: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-letter-of-condolences-for-death-of-archbishop-giuseppe-pittau
