Biography
Cesare Zacchi was born on 28 November 1914 in Ortignano Raggiolo, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 17 October 1937. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1948. He worked in the Apostolic Nunciatures in Austria, Yugoslavia, Colombia, and Cuba. He had been a councilor in Cuba since 1969 when the nuncio there, Luigi Centoz, was appointed to a post in Rome on 5 July 1962. With Zacchi's appointment as interim charge d'affaires of the Nunciature to Cuba, the Vatican hoped to establish a modus vivendi under the Castro regime. Zacchi said: "My principal task is to reduce the distrust between the Cuban clergy and the government." The Cuban government refused to recognize the Catholic bishops in Cuba as anything other than agents of a foreign entity; it therefore ignored them and dealt with Zacchi, whose position identified him as the papacy's representative. Zacchi made occasion positive remarks about the regime to gain some relaxation of government restrictions. With some success he urged the bishops to operate without antagonizing the government and endorse collaboration with government programs. Zacchi told one interviewer: "The Cuban Catholic must become part of the popular organizations of the society in which he lives. He must participate in voluntary work, he must join the militia; he must join athletic and cultural organizations. He must also take an active part in the student movement and in professional organizations. This would naturally produce a mutual influence." On 16 September 1967,Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacchi, Cesare 1914 births 1991 deaths People from the Province of Arezzo Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic Nuncios to Cuba Officials of the Roman Curia