Vatican City, June 2014. His Eminence Renato Raffaele Cardinal Martino, Grand Prior of the Constantinian Order, was appointed Cardinal Protodeacon by His Holiness Pope Francis on the occasion of the Ordinary Public Consistory for the canonization of the blessed. It is the Cardinal Proto-Deacon’s duty of announcing the outcome of the election of the Roman Pontiff, with the famous formula of “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: habemus Papam”, delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Grand Master and other senior Officers of the Order have addressed messages of congratulations to His Eminence by expressing “sincere congratulations for a well-deserved recognition which further enhances his merits in the service rendered to the Holy See and the Catholic Church”.