Pope Francis sends his condolences on the death of Cardinal Henri Schwery and says that the Bishop Emeritus of Zion was a pastor deeply dedicated to the faithful of his diocese in Switzerland.
By Vatican News staff writer
Cardinal Henri Schwery, Bishop Emeritus of Zion in Switzerland, died Thursday at the age of 88 in his hometown of Saint-Léonard.
In response to his passing, Pope Francis sent a telegram on Friday to the deceased cardinal’s successor, Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey. In the message, the Pope expressed his condolences to the family of Cardinal Schwery and to all the faithful of the diocese he led for almost 18 years.
“I ask our merciful Father to welcome in peace and light this learned man and the Pastor who has been deeply dedicated to the guidance of his diocese,” the Pope wrote. He praised Cardinal Schwery’s dedication to the needs of the faithful, the promotion of his priestly vocations, and his efforts to promote the unity of the Church.
Pope Francis ended his message by sharing his Apostolic Blessing to all those whose paths crossed that of Cardinal Henri Schwery.
Short biography
Cardinal Henri Schwery, Bishop Emeritus of Zion (Switzerland), was born on June 14, 1932 in Saint-Léonard, the diocese of Zion, a small agricultural center in the Rosano Valley, a few kilometers from the city of Zion, Switzerland.
The last of the 11 children, he studied theology at the major seminary in Zion, then continued in Rome at the French seminary in St. Clare. In 1957, he was called to Switzerland to continue his studies.
He was ordained a priest on July 7, 1957 at the age of 25. He was then sent to Freiburg and obtained a university degree in mathematics and physics. In 1961 he taught in Zion. For eight years, from 1958, he was diocesan chaplain of the Catholic Action of Young Students. Between 1958 and 1977, he was a military chaplain. He also served for several years as chaplain of the children’s choir of the Mother of God in Zion and advisor to the Swiss Committee of Children’s Choirs. From 1968 to 1972 he was director of the minor seminary in Zion and rector of the College in Zion from 1972 to 1977.
On July 22, 1977, he was appointed bishop of Zion and was ordained on September 17, 1977. He was also a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education (1978-1983) and attended numerous meetings on vocations and evangelism in Europe and in the United States. The extraordinary synod. since 1985. It is also the Canon of Honor of the Territorial Abbey of Saint Maurice d’Agaunne.
He has served in the Episcopal Conference and in offices for schools, seminaries and faculties, military chaplains, the Ministry of Health, relations with dioceses outside Switzerland and European Conferences. From 1 January 1983 to 31 December 1988, he was President of the Swiss Episcopal Conference.
He is the author of many pastoral letters and biblical-theological reflections on the relationship between the pastor and the human and religious reality of his Church.
In 1978 he dedicated his first letter to lay and priestly vocations. He retired as Bishop of Zion on April 1, 1995. He participated in the April 2005 conclave, which elected Pope Benedict XVI.
Pope John Paul II created and proclaimed him Cardinal in the Consistory of June 28, 1991, giving him the titular church of Ss. Protomartyrs at Via Aurelia Antica (Sts. Protomarytrs at Via Aurelia Antica).