Agostino Borromeo (24 January 1944 – 4 February 2024) was an Italian historian and academic who was Lieutenant General of Honor of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Borromeo married Beatriz González de la Bastida Vergas, and they had three children.[2] He liked playing
tennis,
skiing, and
photography.[1]
Career
Agostino Borromeo was an author of over 180 publications on the religious history of Southern Europe, musicology, and music criticism.
Borromeo was an internationally acclaimed expert on the history of the
Inquisition.[3][4][5] In October 1998, following the opening of the archive of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith he coordinated the organization of an international symposium on the history of the Inquisition held at the
Vatican.[6] He was a Catholic commentator for the
PBS television series Secret Files of the Inquisition.[7][8]
Borromeo was also well known in the history of international relations in modern times and religious history of Spain.[9][10]
From 1992, he was president of the Italian Institute of Iberian Studies.[1]
From 2006, he was President of the "Don Giuseppe de Luca" Association, an institution for the research in the field of religious history.[12]
Roman Catholic Church
Borromeo was an active
Roman Catholic for many years. As a young man, he participated in the
Catholic scout movement. In 1993 he was elected president of an international Catholic association Circolo di Roma, founded in 1949, which gathers foreign
diplomats accredited to the
Holy See.[13] In 2002 he was appointed a member of the
Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.[14][15] He was vice-president of the Italian National Union for the Transport of the Sick to
Lourdes and International Shrines (Unitalsi).[16][17]
Borromeo was a member of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre from 1985 until his death. From 1995 to 2002 he served as a Member of the Grand Magisterium. From 2002 to 2004 he was the Orders'
chancellor.[18] In 2009 Cardinal
John Patrick Foley, Grand Master of the Order, appointed him
General Governor.[18] He served in this position until 29 June 2016. On 28 July 2017, he was appointed by Cardinal
Edwin O'Brien, the Grand Master, as Lieutenant General of Honor.[19]
Death
Borromeo died on 4 February 2024.[2] His funeral was presided over by the Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, and concelebrated by Cardinal Edwin O’Brien at
Santi Apostoli, Rome on 6 February 2024. Also in attendance were Fra
John Dunlap,
Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and Leonardo Visconti di Modrone, Governor-General of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.[20]
Selected works
Borromeo was the editor and author of hundreds of publications.
Spain in Italy: Politics, Society, and Religion 1500–1700. Edited by Thomas James Dandelet, John A. Marino, American Academy in Rome, 2006.
ISBN9004154299,
ISBN978-9004154292
L' inquisizione : atti del simposio internazionale: Città del Vaticano, 29-31 ottobre 1998. By Agostino Borromeo. Città del Vaticano : Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 2003.
ISBN8821007618 9788821007613
Storia religiosa della Spagna. Agostino Borromeo. Milano, Centro Ambrosiano, 1998.
ISBN8880251791 9788880251798
La Valtellina crocevia dell'Europa : politica e religione nell'età della Guerra dei trent'anni. By Agostino Borromeo; Quintín Aldea. Milano: Mondadori, 1998. OCLC Number: 954608350