Virgilio Cardinal Noè

Who was Virgilio Cardinal Noè?

Virgilio Cardinal Noè was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate.

Born in 1922 in Zelata di Bereguardo, Lombardy, Noè studied at the Seminary of Pavia. He was sent to Rome in 1948 by Bishop Carlo Allorio of Pavia to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a doctorate in ecclesiastical history in 1952, and was ordained on 1 October 1944.

He served as Undersecretary of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship from 1969–75. In 1970, he was appointed the first Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations by Pope Paul VI. He was appointed Undersecretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 1975, holding this post for two years. On 30 January 1982 he was appointed Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and that same day was appointed Titular Archbishop of Voncaria. He held his position at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments until 1989.

Noè was created Cardinal-Deacon of S. Giovanni Bosco in Via Tuscolana in the consistory of 28 June 1991 by Pope John Paul II. Three days later, he was made Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, Vicar-General of His Holiness for Vatican City State, and President of the Fabric of St. Peter, offices he would hold until April 2002.