Giuseppe Pizzardo
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Pizzardo was an Italian
Cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
who served as Prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities
from 1939 to 1968, and Secretary of the Holy Office
from 1951 to 1959. Pizzardo was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1937.
, Pizzardo studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University
, Pontifical Athenaeum S. Apollinare, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
before being ordained
a priest
on September 19, 1903.
From 1908 to 1909, he did pastoral
work in Rome
and served in the Vatican Secretariat of State
. Pizzardo was raised to the rank of Monsignor
, and appointed Secretary of the nunciature to Bavaria
, on June 7, 1909. In the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs
, he was appointed: Undersecretary (1920), Substitute (1921), and Secretary (1929). He became an apostolic protonotary on January 11, 1927.
Pope Pius XI
appointed him Titular Archbishop
of Cyrrhus on March 28, 1930, and on the following April 22 Titular Archbishop of Nicaea Pizzardo received his episcopal consecration
on April 27 of that same year from Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli
, with Archbishop Giuseppe Palica and Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani serving as co-consecrators
.
He was named President of the Pontifical Commission for Russia on December 21, 1934, and Assistant at the Papal Throne
on January 19, 1936. He was created Cardinal-Priest
of Santa Maria in Via Lata
by Pius XI in the consistory
of December 13, 1937. Pizzardo was Prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities
from March 14, 1939 until his resignation on January 13, 1968.
He was named Secretary of the Holy Office (the equivalent of what is now called Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
) on February 16, 1951 by Pope Pius XII
, for whom he had worked many years in the Secretariat of State. He resigned on October 12, 1959. He was Cardinal Bishop of Albano from June 21, 1948. He attended the Second Vatican Council
.
He was known as an early patron and mentor of Giovanni Battista Montini
, the future Pope Paul VI, who is said to have voted for Pizzardo at the 1963 papal conclave
. Though they became more distant as Montini rose in power, Pope Paul's final trip away from his summer residence
before his death in August 1978 was to a memorial Mass
on the anniversary of Pizzardo's death.
Pizzardo was considered to be a highly conservative
clergyman. During his tenure at the Holy Office, he placed a decorated French
doctoral thesis
, based on sex
in the life of the Church, on the Index of Forbidden Books
and denounced The Power and the Glory
by Graham Greene
, describing the Curial officials' attitude toward the novel as "altogether adverse". He also denounced the French worker-priest movement
, and Catholic participation in Moral Re-Armament
.
, serving on its Central Committee as Ecclesiastical Assistant in 1923 and President in 1938.
Appointed Sub-Dean of the College of Cardinals on March 29, 1965, Pizzardo was one of the cardinal electors in the conclaves
of 1939
, 1958
, and 1963
.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
who served as Prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities
Congregation for Catholic Education
The Congregation for Catholic Education is the Pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: seminaries and houses of formation of...
from 1939 to 1968, and Secretary of the Holy Office
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
from 1951 to 1959. Pizzardo was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 1937.
Biography
Born in SavonaSavona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, Pizzardo studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
, Pontifical Athenaeum S. Apollinare, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy is one of the Roman Colleges of the Roman Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See....
before being ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
on September 19, 1903.
From 1908 to 1909, he did pastoral
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
work in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and served in the Vatican Secretariat of State
Secretariat of State (Vatican)
The Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the government of the Roman Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of Vatican City and the Holy See...
. Pizzardo was raised to the rank of Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
, and appointed Secretary of the nunciature to Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, on June 7, 1909. In the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs
Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs
The Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Pius VII on 19 July 1814 by extending the competence to the Sacred Congregation for the Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Kingdom of France , which Pope Pius VI had set up in 1793...
, he was appointed: Undersecretary (1920), Substitute (1921), and Secretary (1929). He became an apostolic protonotary on January 11, 1927.
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
appointed him Titular Archbishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Cyrrhus on March 28, 1930, and on the following April 22 Titular Archbishop of Nicaea Pizzardo received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on April 27 of that same year from Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, with Archbishop Giuseppe Palica and Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.
He was named President of the Pontifical Commission for Russia on December 21, 1934, and Assistant at the Papal Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne is an ecclesiastical title in the Roman Catholic Church. It signifies a prelate belonging to the papal chapel, who stands near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions....
on January 19, 1936. He was created Cardinal-Priest
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of Santa Maria in Via Lata
Santa Maria in Via Lata
Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso , in Rome, Italy.-History:It is claimed that St. Paul spent two years here, in the crypt under the church, whilst under house arrest waiting for his trial. This conflicts with the tradition regarding San Paolo alla Regola...
by Pius XI in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of December 13, 1937. Pizzardo was Prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities
Congregation for Catholic Education
The Congregation for Catholic Education is the Pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: seminaries and houses of formation of...
from March 14, 1939 until his resignation on January 13, 1968.
He was named Secretary of the Holy Office (the equivalent of what is now called Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
) on February 16, 1951 by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, for whom he had worked many years in the Secretariat of State. He resigned on October 12, 1959. He was Cardinal Bishop of Albano from June 21, 1948. He attended the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
.
He was known as an early patron and mentor of Giovanni Battista Montini
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
, the future Pope Paul VI, who is said to have voted for Pizzardo at the 1963 papal conclave
Papal conclave, 1963
The Papal conclave of 1963 was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on June 3 of that same year in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on June 19 and ended two days later, on June 21, after six ballots. The...
. Though they became more distant as Montini rose in power, Pope Paul's final trip away from his summer residence
Castel Gandolfo
Castel Gandolfo is a small Italian town or comune in Lazio that occupies a height overlooking Lake Albano about 15 miles south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills. It is best known as the summer residence of the Pope. It is an Italian town with the population of 8834...
before his death in August 1978 was to a memorial Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
on the anniversary of Pizzardo's death.
Pizzardo was considered to be a highly conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
clergyman. During his tenure at the Holy Office, he placed a decorated French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
doctoral thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
, based on sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
in the life of the Church, on the Index of Forbidden Books
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
and denounced The Power and the Glory
The Power and the Glory
The Power and the Glory is a novel by British author Graham Greene. The title is an allusion to the doxology often added to the end of the Lord's Prayer: "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, now and forever , amen." This novel has also been published in the US under the name The...
by Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
, describing the Curial officials' attitude toward the novel as "altogether adverse". He also denounced the French worker-priest movement
Worker-Priest
Worker-priest was a missionary initiative by the French Catholic Church in particular for priests to take up work in such places as car factories to experience the everyday life of the working class...
, and Catholic participation in Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament was an international Christian moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from the American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman, a Lutheran, headed MRA for 23 years, from 1938 until his death in 1961...
.
Other roles
He was also involved in Azione CattolicaAzione Cattolica
The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica for short, is a widespread lay Roman Catholic association in Italy.-History:...
, serving on its Central Committee as Ecclesiastical Assistant in 1923 and President in 1938.
Appointed Sub-Dean of the College of Cardinals on March 29, 1965, Pizzardo was one of the cardinal electors in the conclaves
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
of 1939
Papal conclave, 1939
The Papal conclave of 1939 was convoked on the brink of World War II with the death of Pope Pius XI on 10 February that year in the Apostolic Palace. With all 62 living cardinals in attendance, the conclave to elect Pius' successor began on 1 March and ended a day later, on 2 March, after three...
, 1958
Papal conclave, 1958
The Papal conclave of 1958 occurred following the death of Pope Pius XII on 9 October 1958 in Castel Gandolfo, after a 19-year pontificate. The conclave to elect his successor commenced on 25 October and ended three days later, on 28 October, after eleven ballots. The cardinal electors chose Angelo...
, and 1963
Papal conclave, 1963
The Papal conclave of 1963 was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on June 3 of that same year in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on June 19 and ended two days later, on June 21, after six ballots. The...
.