Swiss cardinal Henri Schwery has died, leaving the college of cardinals with 228 members. Of those, 128 are electors.
He was 88 years old and very well-rounded. He was dedicated to pastoral ministry and was an expert in mathematics and physics.
When he was a bishop, the Lefebvrian schism played out in his diocese. There, in 1988, Marcel Lefebvre ordained four bishops without permission, as an act of rebellion against the pope.
John Paul II named Henri Schwery a cardinal in 1991. Schwery participated in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI.
He retired in 2008.
Javier Romero
Translation: CT
