Paul Marcinkus
Paulius Casimir Marcinkus (
January 15,
1922 –
February 20 2006) was born in
Cicero, Illinois, in the
United States. He is best known for his controversial term as President of the Vatican Bank between 1971 and 1989
Marcinkus was the son of an immigrant window washer who arrived in Cicero in
1914. His
Lithuanian father, Mykolas, had left
Lithuania to escape possible induction into the Russian army. Moving to the
United States, he briefly lived in
Pittsburgh before heading to
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to help a cousin whose farm needed workers. He moved to Cicero after he then found work in a Chicago steel mill. By the time his fourth son, Paulius, arrived, he had started washing windows for the Leo Sheridan Co., a job he would hold for 30 years.
Marcinkus was ordained to the priesthood for the
Archdiocese of Chicago on
May 3,
1947, and served parish assignments with both St. Christina's and Holy Cross church on the city's far south side. By
1949, he had been appointed to the archdiocese's matrimonial tribunal, which processed applications to have marriages annulled.
Arriving in Rome in
1950 to study canon law at Gregorian University, and began to accept special assignments from the
Vatican. Upon earning his degree in 1953, he was asked to stay with the Vatican on a full-time basis, and became friends with
Giovanni Battista Montini, who would be Pope a decade later. Enrolling in the two-year diplomatic school, Marcinkus headed to
Bolivia in
1955 and
Canada four years later, serving as secretary in the Vatican nunciature in both instances. The titles were the equivalent of a secretary at a foreign embassy.
In December
1959, he returned to Rome to work in the office of the secretariat of state, and had learned enough Italian to serve as an occasional interpreter for
Pope John XXIII. With the ascension of
Pope Paul VI to the papacy, Marcinkus became the prime English translator, and also helped handle the arrangements for the pontiff's overseas trips. In addition, his height and muscular build helped him serve as a bodyguard for Paul VI, earning him the nickname, "The Gorilla."
[
1] On
January 6,
1969, he was ordained to the episcopate as Titular Archbishop of Horta and Secretary of the
Roman Curia. His ferocious protection of the Pope remained in evidence two months later when he refused to allow Secret Service agents in a private meeting between the pontiff and
U.S. President Richard Nixon, saying, "I'll give you 60 seconds to get out of here or you can explain to the President why the Pope could not see him today."
In
1979, Marcinkus was reportedly targeted by the infamous
Red Brigade terrorist group for possible kidnapping or assassination after his address and other documents were found in the apartment of two group members.
On
September 26,
1981, Marcinkus was appointed Pro-
President of Vatican City, making him the third most powerful person in the Vatican, behind Pope John Paul II and the secretary of state. He resigned that position on
October 30,
1990.
Marcinkus was the president of the
Istituto per le Opere di Religione or the
Vatican Bank from
1971 to
1989. In July
1982, Marcinkus was implicated in financial scandals being reported on the front pages of newspapers and magazines throughout Europe, particularly the collapse of the
Banco Ambrosiano, in which
Propaganda Due (aka "P2"), a masonic lodge, was involved (Marcinkus had been a director of Ambrosiano Overseas, based in
Nassau, Bahamas, and had been involved with Ambrosiano's chairman
Roberto Calvi for a number of years). He was also involved with
Michele Sindona, who had links with the
Mafia.
The scandal widened after financier Roberto Calvi, whose Banco Ambrosiano had dealt with Marcinkus, committed suicide by hanging himself from
London's
Blackfriars Bridge the previous month. Adding to the troubles, a journalist investigating Marcinkus, the Vatican Bank and ties to
organized crime was also found dead. Ultimately the decision was made not to indict Marcinkus (
New York Times "U.S. prelate not indicted in Italy bank scandal" April 30, 1989).
However, he stepped aside as head of the Vatican Bank soon after, with a board of laymen taking control of the bank. (
Wall Street Journal Western Edition,"Vatican gives control of bank to board of laymen, as archbishop steps aside" June 21, 1989, page A17). Eventually, the Vatican paid £145 million as settlement to creditors, with Marcinkus observing in 1986 that:
"You can't run the Church on Hail Marys" (quoted in the
May 25,
1986,
Observer, London).
He returned to the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1990 before retiring to Arizona where he lived as a parish priest, refusing to discuss his role at the Vatican. (see[
2]).Marcinkus died in
Sun City, Arizona, aged 84, of undisclosed causes.
*
Propaganda Due*
Banco Ambrosiano scandal
*
Emanuela Orlandi, whose "disappearance", in which Marcinkus may have been involved, may have been intended to press the Pope to free
Mehmet Ali Ağca, who tried to assassinate the Pope in 1981.
*
BBC News Online, "Scandal-hit Vatican banker dies" 21 February 2006*
Independent Online "Priest at the heart of 'God's banker' scandal dies at 84" 22 February 2006
