“I think with gratitude of the diligent collaboration provided by him for so many years to the Holy See, first as vice president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and then as president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, where he has spared no energy to bear witness to the paternal concern of the Pope for the poorest.”
To conclude, Pope Francis raised his prayers “to the Lord so that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, he may welcome this faithful servant and shepherd in the heavenly Jerusalem, and from the bottom of my heart I send my blessing to all who mourn his earthly departure.”
In the Vatican Curia and, by promoting the San Lorenzo International Youth Center, inaugurated in 1983, Cardinal Cordes helped shape the idea of World Youth Day (WYD) between 1983 and 1984.