VATICAN CITY (CNS): Pope John Paul II has praised the late Chilean Cardinal Juan Francisco Fresno Larrain of Santiago as “a zealous pastor who, with prudence and pastoral charity, served his people and the Church”.
The cardinal, widely praised for his calm leadership during Chile’s transition to democracy in the 1980s, died on October 14 at the age of 90.
The Archdiocese of Santiago said the cardinal died at home of renal failure after a long illness.
His funeral was held on October 19 in Santiago’s cathedral.
After being named Archbishop of Santiago in 1983, Cardinal Fresno was an outspoken opponent of abuses under General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled Chile from 1973-90.
Pope John Paul, who had appointed him to Santiago, inducted him into the College of Cardinals in 1985. He retired in 1990.
