Paul Marcinkus

Paul Casimir Marcinkus  (; January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American Catholic prelate who served as president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989. He also served as president of the Governorate for Vatican City State from 1989 to 1990, following eight years as vice-president. He was the titular Archbishop of Horta.

Early life

Marcinkus was born in Cicero, Illinois, the son of Lithuanian immigrants and the youngest of five children. His father worked as a window cleaner, among other occupations.

International career

In 1950, Marcinkus began to fulfil special assignments for the Holy See and became friendly with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, later Pope Paul VI, while studying canon law at the Gregorian University. Upon earning his degree in 1953, he completed the two-year program for prospective diplomats at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and was assigned to Bolivia and served on occasion as an interpreter for Pope John XXIII Under Paul VI, he helped manage arrangements for papal overseas trips. His height and muscular build served him well as an "informal bodyguard" for Paul VI, On January 6, 1969, he received his episcopal consecration as titular Bishop of Horta.

Vatican Bank and Vatican City State

Pope Paul VI appointed Marcinkus secretary of the Vatican Bank in 1968. He was named its president in 1971 at the age of 48, serving in that role until 1989. Although an able administrator, Marcinkus had no prior experience as a banker. Upon his initial appointment to the Vatican Bank, he underwent brief training and short (of days-to-weeks) observational periods at several financial institutions. Marcinkus said "he considered the charges against him serious, but not based enough on fact that he would violate the Vatican Bank's confidentiality to defend himself...back in the States, it was agreed on the highest levels that the case against Marcinkus could not be pursued any further."

In 1979, Marcinkus was reported as having been targeted by the Red Brigades, a far-left terrorist group, for possible kidnap or assassination after his address and other documents were found in the apartment of two group members, Valerio Morucci and Adriana Faranda.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II promoted Marcinkus to archbishop and, in addition to his role with the Vatican Bank, made him vice-president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, in effect its governor. In fact, several Portuguese police officers grabbed and disarmed the attacker, preventing the Pope from being stabbed.

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, financier Roberto Calvi, for a number of years.

The scandal widened after the body of Roberto Calvi, whose Banco Ambrosiano had dealt with Marcinkus, was found hanging under London's Blackfriars Bridge in June 1982. Marcinkus himself was never charged with a crime.

Marcinkus stepped aside as head of the Vatican Bank in June 1989, with a board of laymen assuming control of the bank. He was then made president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Marcinkus later said that he was misquoted, what he actually said was: "When my workers come to retire, they expect a pension; it's no use my saying to them 'I'll pay you 400 Hail Marys."

Marcinkus resigned from Vatican service on October 30, 1990.

Allegations

In 1984, Marcinkus was named by David Yallop as a possible accomplice in the claimed "murder" of Pope John Paul I; Yallop made allegations regarding a number of suspects, involving the Mafia and Freemasonry. For instance, Anthony Raimondi, who purports to be a nephew of Lucky Luciano, claimed in 2019 that he helped his alleged cousin Marcinkus murder the pope. Loris Serafini, director of a museum in Canale d'Agordo overseeing a collection covering John Paul I's life, refers to the purported murder as "an unshakable myth", and Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli, writing for the Washington Post, report that: "One papal doctor believed heart attack was the likeliest cause of death. Another doctor who'd previously treated the pope said there was "no clinical doubt" that the cause was circulatory...

Later life and death

Marcinkus returned to the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1990 before retiring to Arizona, where he lived as an assistant parish priest at St. Clement of Rome Church in Sun City. He declined to discuss his role in the Ambrosiano scandal. Marcinkus died in Sun City, Arizona, aged 84, of undisclosed causes.

In popular culture

Marcinkus was played by actor Rutger Hauer in the Italian film The Bankers of God.

In Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III, actor Donal Donnelly portrayed Archbishop Gilday. The character is widely perceived as based on Marcinkus.

In 2006, Marcinkus was played by actor Jacques Sernas in the 2006 Italian TV Series Pope John Paul I: The Smile of God.

Tom Flannery's one-man play Marcinkus (2006) played in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania to positive reviews.

Marcinkus was portrayed by actor Randall Paul in Roberto Faenza's 2016 film ('The Truth Lies in Heaven').

Honours

80px Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry, Portugal (2 September 1983)

References

;Additional sources

Malachi Martin - Rich Church, Poor Church (Putnam, New York, 1984) ()
J.G. Sandom - Gospel Truths, Bantam/Random House, 1992 & 2009 ()