THE SIX LIVING COUNCIL FATHERS OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL 

Since February 1, 2022, three council fathers of the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965) have died, leaving a total of six living council fathers.

Bishop Gérard-Joseph Deschamps, S.M.M., emeritus of Bereina, Papua New Guinea, a native of Canada, died on February 25, 2022. He had attended the second and fourth sessions of the council.

Archbishop Gabino Díaz Merchán, emeritus of Oviedo, Spain, died on June 14, 2022. He had attended the fourth session of the council.

Bishop Laurent Noël, emeritus of Trois-Rivières, Canada, died on July 2, 2022 at the age of 102. He had attended the second, third, and fourth sessions of the council. At the time of his death he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop in the world.

May they rest in peace.

As a result of the deaths of these three distinguished prelates, the six living council fathers are:

Bishop Luigi Bettazzi, emeritus of Ivrea, Italy and Archbishop Victorinus Youn Kong-hi, emeritus of Kwangju, South Korea. They attended sessions two, three, and four.

Bishop José de Jesús Sahagún de la Parra, emeritus of Ciudad Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, who attended sessions one, two, and four.

Archbishop Alphonse Mathias, emeritus of Bangalore, India, who attended sessions three and four.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, former Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship & the Discipline of the Sacraments and Bishop Daniel Alphonse Omer Verstraete, O.M.I., emeritus of Klerksdorp, South Africa, who attended session four.