Word: sacristan
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Extreme Unction. Around midnight Thursday, the hemorrhage began again, and then the spreading disease caused peritonitis-inflammation of the abdominal lining. In the morning the Pope accepted the last Communion (viaticum) from the hand of his confessor, Monsignor Giuseppe Cavagna. Monsignor Peter van Lierde, Sacristan of the Holy Palaces, performed the rite of extreme unction, anointing John's body with holy oil. Afterward, John called Monsignor Cavagna to his bedside, reported L'Osservatore Romano, and "in a clear, firm voice the august Pontiff confirmed his great love for the church and all souls and again offered his life...