Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian

Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and

Dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establi ...

from 1972 until his death. Cicognani was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. His brother, Gaetano Cicognani, was also a cardinal. To date they are the last pair of brothers to serve together in the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appo ...

Career in the Church

Amleto Cicognani was born in

Brisighella Brisighella ( rgn, Brisighëla) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Ravenna, region of Emilia-Romagna, in Northeast Italy. Brisighella borders the following municipalities: Casola Valsenio, Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole, Fa ...

, near Faenza, as the younger of the two children of Guglielmo and Anna (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

'' Ceroni) Cicognani. His

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can ...

ed mother ran a general store to support him and his brother,

Gaetano Gaetano (anglicized '' Cajetan'') is an Italian masculine given name. It is also used as a surname. It is derived from the Latin ''Caietanus'', meaning "from ''Caieta''" (the modern Gaeta). The given name has been in use in Italy since medieval p ...

. After studying at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in Faenza, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 23 September 1905 by Bishop Gioacchino Cantagalli. Cicognani continued his studies at the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum ''S. Apollinare'', and in 1910 he was appointed an official of the

Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments ( la, Dicasterium de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum) is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church ...

. First raised to the rank of

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in 1917, he taught at his alma mater of the Athenaeum ''S. Apollinare'' from 1921 to 1932, and then entered the Roman Curia, as substitute adjunct of the Consistorial, on 16 December 1922. After holding a variety of

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music ( pastorale) that de ...

and curial positions, Cicognani was appointed Apostolic Delegate to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In ...

of ''Laodicea in Phrygia'' on 17 March 1933. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 23 April from Cardinal Raffaele Rossi, with Archbishops Giuseppe Pizzardo and Carlo Salotti serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

, in the Roman church of Santa Susanna. Cicognani would remain Apostolic Delegate to the United States, serving as liaison between the American hierarchy and the Vatican, for the next 25 years. During World War II, Cicognani expressed reservations about

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

. In a letter dated 22 June 1943 to American representative

Myron C. Taylor Myron Charles Taylor (January 18, 1874 – May 5, 1959) was an American business magnate, industrialist, and later a diplomat involved in many of the most important geopolitics, geopolitical events during and after World War II. In addition h ...

, he said: "It is true that at one time Palestine was inhabited by the Hebrew Race, but there is no axiom in history to substantiate the necessity of a people returning to a country they left nineteen centuries before ... If a 'Hebrew Home' is desired, it would not be too difficult to find a more fitting territory than Palestine. With an increase in the Jewish population there, grave, new international problems would arise."The Evian Conference – Hitler's Green Light for Genocide

Cardinal

He was created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Clemente by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

in the consistory of 15 December 1958. Cardinal Cicognani was later raised to Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati on 23 May 1962. Because his brother, Gaetano, was already a living cardinal, having been elevated in 1953, an exception had to be made to the Church law that prohibited brothers from holding the title of cardinal simultaneously. On 14 November 1959, Cicognani became Secretary of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicast ...

. He was later named to the posts of

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State ( la, Pontificia Commissio pro Civitate Vaticana, it, Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Città del Vaticano;) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who als ...

, and President of the

Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; it, Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, link=no) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the fun ...

on 12 August 1961. With the appointments of 1962, Cicognani essentially became the foreign minister, prime minister, and

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

of the Vatican. He attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

(1962–1965), at which he served as Chairman of the Secretariat for Extraordinary Questions. Cicognani was also one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

1963 papal conclave The 1963 papal conclave was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on 3 June 1963 in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on 19 June and ended two days later, o ...

, which selected

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

. On 30 April 1969, Cicognani resigned all of his posts. However, on 24 March 1972, he was elected and confirmed as

and thus received the title of the suburbicarian see of

Ostia Ostia may refer to: Places *Ostia (Rome), a municipio (also called ''Ostia Lido'' or ''Lido di Ostia'') of Rome *Ostia Antica, a township and port of ancient Rome *Ostia Antica (district), a district of the commune of Rome Arts and entertainment ...

, in addition to his title of Cardinal Bishop of Frascati. Cicognani died in Rome, following a brief illness, at age 90. He is buried in the Basilica di San Clemente. He was considered to be rather conservative in his views. He sought to stem ecumenism in the Catholic Church in America, and was once described as not being open to

Aggiornamento ''Aggiornamento'' () is an Italian word meaning "bringing up to date", "updating". It was made famous by pope John XXIII, and was one of the key words at the Second Vatican Council, used by both bishops and the media. John XXIII In his speech ...

.''Time''
"The Fine Papal Art of Creating New Cardinals"
9 June 1967.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cicognani, Amleto Giovanni Deans of the College of Cardinals 20th-century Italian cardinals Presidents of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Apostolic Nuncios to the United States 1883 births 1973 deaths People from the Province of Ravenna Cardinal Secretaries of State Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII