San Raffaele founder Don Luigi Verzè dies

San Raffaele Hospital founder Don Luigi Verzè died this morning at home at the age of 91, in a year in which the Milan hospital ended up bankrupt with debts of a billion and a half euros and the suicide of its financial controller.

Italy's health minister Renato Balduzzi praised the work of the late Don Luigi Verzè, recalling his "great encouragement of biomedical research and the ability to choose and promote professional excellence."

As for "ethical and personal" issues "and the events being examined by the magistrates" the minister refrained from delving into the matter, AGI reported.

Verzè's hospital was an important cancer research and palliative care centre for AIDS victims, but debts incurred this year raised and the suicide of Mario Cal shows the centre was in great crisis.

The hospice group was set to open its own branch in Malta, in a state-financed operation that was cancelled in 1996 by a Labour government. Former prime minister Alfred Sant recently recalled that his decision to stop the San Raffaele project was met with such consternation from founder Don Luigi Verzè, that the priest offered to use his influence with European political leaders to give the Maltese government funding through the Council of Europe.

Verzè was a close friend of Italian leaders like socialist prime minister Bettino Craxi and Italian magnate and former premier Silvio Berlusconi.

The San Raffaele Mount Tabor foundation has been rocked by scandal ever since it announced a massive financial hole that ultimately led to the suicide of financial controller Mario Cal on 2 October, at his San Raffaele Hospital office in Milan.

According to the latest balance sheet for San Raffaele, founder Don Luigi Verzè is dealing with a shortfall of €1.5 billion. Bad investments and expenses unrelated to medical care - including personal aircraft, hotels in Sardinia, and mango plantations in South America - the hospital is on the verge of collapse.

Milan's chief prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati announced that the organisation is under investigation for fraudulent bankruptcy.

Pope Benedict XVI's right-hand man Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone offered €250 million to keep San Raffaele afloat, with some contributions coming from the businessman Vittorio Malcanzana, a friend of Cardinal Bertone.