Corrado Bafile

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Corrado Bafile (July 4, 1903 – February 3, 2005) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He was the oldest cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church in modern times.

Born in L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Bafile was ordained a priest in Rome in 1936 and worked there until 1960. In 1960 he was consecrated a bishop by Pope John XXIII and named nuncio to Germany. He remained in this post until 1975 when Pope Paul VI named him to head the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and he became a cardinal in the consistory of 1976. Bafile retired from the Roman Curia in 1980 and reached the age limit for voting in papal elections in 1983; he was well enough to be received by Pope John Paul II on his 100th birthday in 2003. He died in 2005, aged 101.

Preceded by Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei

Oldest living cardinal 12 March 2000 – 3 March 2005

Succeeded by Johannes Willebrands