Angelo Acerbi

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His Eminence

Angelo Acerbi
Apostolic Nuncio
IMG 6581 - Angelo Acerbi.jpg
Acerbi in 2010
Appointed22 June 1974
Retired27 February 2001
Other post(s) Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Angeli Custodi a Città Giardino (2024–)
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination27 March 1948
Consecration30 June 1974
by  Pope Paul VI, Giovanni Benelli and Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy
Created cardinal7 December 2024
by Pope Francis
Rank Cardinal deacon
Personal details
Born (1925-09-23) 23 September 1925 (age 99)
Sesta Godano, Kingdom of Italy
MottoIn Fide Et Lenitate
Coat of arms Coat of arms of Angelo Acerbi (cardinal).svg
Styles of
Angelo Acerbi
Coat of arms of Angelo Acerbi (cardinal).svg
Reference style His Eminence
Spoken style Your Eminence
Informal style Cardinal

Angelo Acerbi (born 23 September 1925) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who has been an archbishop since 1974 and a cardinal since 2024. He served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as the Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand, the Netherlands, Colombia, Hungary, and Moldova.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Angelo Acerbi was born in Sesta Godano on 23 September 1925. On 27 March 1948, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of La Spezia. [1]

After earning a degree in canon law, he obtained his licence in theology. Having completed the course of study at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1954, [2] he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

Diplomatic career

He worked in the nunciatures in Colombia, Brazil, Japan and France, as well as in the International Relations Department of the Holy See's Secretariat of State. [1] In March 1974, he was sent on a mission to Spain to ease church–state tensions over a sermon circulated by Bishop Antonio Añoveros Ataún of Bilbao advocating greater freedom for Spain's Basques. [3]

On 22 June 1974, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Zella in Tunisia, and apostolic pronuncio to New Zealand and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean. [4] He received episcopal consecration on 30 June from Pope Paul; the co-consecrators were archbishops Giovanni Benelli, deputy for the General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, and Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.[ citation needed ] On 6 February 1979, he was named Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Fiji as well. [5]

On 14 August 1979 Pope John Paul II appointed him apostolic nuncio to Colombia. [6] On 27 February 1980, Acerbi was taken hostage along with more than a dozen other diplomats and more than forty others, when communist guerillas belonging to the 19th of April Movement assaulted the embassy of the Dominican Republic in Bogota. He was one of the last released in Havana on 28 April. [7] Acerbi was allowed to celebrate Mass daily in captivity. [8]

On 28 March 1990, he was transferred to Hungary, [9] the first apostolic nuncio to be named after the establishment of Communism in that country. During Acerbi's diplomatic assignment in Hungary, the Holy See concluded an agreement with the Republic of Hungary on religious assistance to the Armed Forces and the Border Police [10] and prepared another relating to the financing of public and other purely religious activities carried out by the Catholic Church in Hungary, in particular the financing of educational activities, which was signed shortly after the end of Acerbi's tenure in Hungary.[ citation needed ] On 13 January 1994 he was also appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Moldova. [11] On 8 February 1997 he was transferred to the nunciature in the Netherlands. [12] On 27 February 2001, Pope John Paul II named François Bacqué to succeed him in that position, ending his career as an active nuncio. [13]

Later years

On 2 June 2001, Pope John Paul named Acerbi to two curial positions, member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and member of the council of cardinals and bishops for the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State. [14] On 4 April 2002, the pope added membership in the Congregation for Bishops. [15]

On 21 June 2001, he was appointed prelate of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, tasked with overseeing the priestly life of its chaplains and assisting the Order's leaders in promoting the religious observance of its members. On 21 January 2006, Acerbi denounced the comments published in the Italian weekly Panorama a month earlier, [16] which said that Acerbi was leading a faction of young adherents of the Order dissatisfied its failure to emphasize its Christian identity. [17] On 4 July 2015, Pope Francis appointed a new prelate, Monsignor Jean Laffitte. [18]

Acerbi is scheduled to lead a spiritual meditation during the triennial gathering of the Holy See's diplomats in September 2022. [19]

On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make Acerbi a cardinal on 8 December, [20] a date that was later changed to 7 December. [21]

On 7 December 2024, Pope Francis made him a cardinal, assigning him as a member of the order of cardinal deacons the deaconry of Santi Angeli Custodi a Città Giardino. [22] With his elevation, he surpassed Estanislao Esteban Karlic to become the oldest living Cardinal. [23]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Appointment of the new prelate of the Order of Malta, he Rt. Rev. Mgr. Angelo Acerbi". Order of Malta (Press release). 26 June 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica" (in Italian). Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "Vatican Sends Aide to Spain in Dispute". New York Times. 12 March 1974. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXVI. 1974. pp. 365, 459. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXI. 1979. p. 385. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXI. 1979. p. 1056. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  7. ↑ Krause, Charles A. (28 April 1980). "Columbian Guerrillas Fly to Cuba, Free 16 Hostage Diplomats". Washington Post. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "Diplomacy's Dark Hours". Time. 17 March 1980.
  9. ↑ "Intervento del Segretario per i Rapporti con gli Stati ..." (in Italian). 12 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  10. ↑ "Accordi bilaterali vigenti della Santa Sede". iuscangreg.it. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXVI. 1994. p. 207. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  12. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXIX. 1997. p. 207. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 27.02.2001" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 27 February 2001. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 02.06.2001" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 2 June 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  15. ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 04.04.2002" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 April 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "Unfounded Comments". The Malta Independent. 22 January 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  17. ↑ "Italian Magazine claims there is much 'disorder' in the Order". The Malta Independent. 8 January 2006.
  18. ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 04.07.2015" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  19. ↑ "Incontro triennale dei Rappresentanti Pontifici, 06.09.2022" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022. una meditazione spirituale guidata da Sua Eccellenza Mons Angelo Acerbi, Nunzio Apostolico
  20. ↑ "Annuncio di Concistoro l'8 dicembre per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali, 06.10.2024" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  21. ↑ Brockhaus, Hannah (12 October 2024). "Vatican Shares Pope Francis' Schedule for December Consistory to Create Cardinals". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  22. ↑ "Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli e delle Diaconie ai nuovi Cardinali, 07.12.2024" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 7 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  23. ↑ Rytel-Andrianik, Fr. Paweł. "Cardinal-elect Acerbi: My appointment a recognition for all diplomats". vaticannews.va. Dicasterium pro Communicatione. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
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