On Saturday, 24 January 2026, Professor Monsignor Crispino Valenziano died at the age of 93. His name is inextricably bound to the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy (PIL) at the Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo. As a central figure of the "second generation" of masters, he received the inheritance of the founders and, through hermeneutical wisdom, transmitted the liturgy not merely as a subject of study, but as a living encounter with the Good Shepherd.

Born in Cefalù in 1932, Monsignor Valenziano’s academic formation spanned Rome, Genoa, Strasbourg and the Sorbonne, where he studied anthropology under Claude Lévi-Strauss. This rare synthesis of theological depth and anthropological breadth defined his scholarship. For Valenziano, liturgical science was never abstract; theory emerged from the lived rite and the patient interrogation of "documents of stone". He worked to restore the dignity of ritual narrative to ecclesial architecture, viewing sacred space as a legible text where every element communicates the celebrated mystery.

His expertise served the universal Church significantly. Called by Pope Paul VI in 1965 to the Consilium for the implementation of the liturgical reform, he subsequently served as a consultor to the Congregation for Divine Worship, the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff and the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church. At Sant’Anselmo, his work culminated in the establishment of a specialized curriculum for architecture and arts for the liturgy. In recognition of his service and academic excellence, the PIL conferred upon him a doctorate honoris causa in Sacred Liturgy in 2007.

A rigorous scholar and brilliant orator, Valenziano was known for articulate, demanding prose. He formed generations of students—many of whom are now professors themselves—teaching them that while his texts required close study, the liturgy itself required eyes open to beauty. His prolific bibliography, ranging from Liturgia e antropologia (1998) to the monumental L’anello della sposa (2005), remains a cornerstone of liturgical reflection, guided always by the via pulchritudinis.

Active until his final days, his last volume, Il presepe, was published in November 2025. Monsignor Valenziano now takes leave of the earthly liturgy, fulfilling the words of the Syriac-Maronite rite he notably cited: "Remain in peace, O holy altar... May the Lord grant me to see you again in the assembly of the firstborn written in the heavens."