Enrico Bartoletti (7 October 1916 – 5 March 1976) was an Italian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

who served on the

Italian Episcopal Conference The Italian Episcopal Conference ( it, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana) or CEI is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, the official assembly of the bishops in Italy. The conference was founded in 1971 and carrie ...

and also as the

Archbishop of Lucca The Archdiocese of Lucca ( la, Archidioecesis Lucensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. The diocese dates back as a diocese to the 1st century; it became an archdiocese in 1726. The episcopal ...

. Bartoletti was renowned for his personal holiness and for his political tact which he delivered while serving on the Italian Episcopal Conference. Bartoletti also worked to defend the lives of the Jewish people during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and contributed to

DELASEM Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants (Delegazione per l'Assistenza degli Emigranti Ebrei) or DELASEM, was an Italian and Jewish resistance organization that worked in Italy between 1939 and 1947. It is estimated that during World War I ...

. His process for beatification commenced on 11 November 2007 in the Archdiocese of Lucca and was granted the title

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

- the first stage in the process - on 4 September 2007 when formal approval to the introduction of the cause was given.

Life

Enrico Bartoletti was born on 7 October 1916 in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. Bartoletti commenced his studies for the priesthood in Florence in 1937 and was later sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for his theological studies at the

Almo Collegio Capranica The Almo Collegio Capranica is the oldest Roman college, founded in 1457 by Cardinal Domenico Capranica (1400–1458) in his own palace for thirty young clerics, who received an education suitable to prepare them for the priesthood. History ...

there in 1934. It was there that he met Giulio Belvederi and the rector - and future cardinal - Augustin Bea. He also attended the

Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

for additional studies. Upon his return to Florence he received his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

to the priesthood from

Elia Dalla Costa Elia Dalla Costa (14 May 1872 – 22 December 1961) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal who served as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, Archbishop of ...

in 1939; his return was short lived for he returned to Rome for further studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in sacred scripture. Bartoletti was made the rector of the Minor Seminary in 1943 and served as a teacher of the Greek and Hebrew languages in addition to serving as a teacher of sacred scripture. During

he made his support of the Jewish people known and was quite vocal of the injustices against them during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

was perpetrating; due to this he collaborated with

and was even arrested on 8 December 1943 though released with strong threats and warnings. In 1955 he was made the rector of the Major Seminary. Upon his return home he was made the director of the Minor Seminary.

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

appointed him as the Auxiliary Bishop of Lucca which meant that Bartoletti would need to be made a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

; he received his episcopal consecration on 8 September 1958 from Ermenegildo Florit. In Lucca he was seen as a strong leader of moral principle with the knack for being a careful mediator. With

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 Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

introducing 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) ...

, Bartoletti was known for his remarkable contribution to

catechetical Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christian ...

and liturgical reform. In 1966 he was appointed as the see's Apostolic Administrator until the elevation of a new archbishop and then - in 1971 - was appointed as the Coajutor Archbishop of Lucca with the "right of succession" upon the death or resignation of the current head. Bartoletti became the Archbishop of Lucca in 1973 and was installed not long after.

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, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

appointed him as the Secretary General of the Italian Bishop's Conference in 1972; he possessed great political tact in realizing and addressing the potential consequences of a referendum on

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. He resigned as Archbishop of Lucca on 31 March 1973 and lived a quiet life after submitting his resignation. Bartoletti died in the morning of 5 March 1976 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome; he was buried 6 March 1976 in the Cathedral of San Martino.

Beatification process

The official announcement that Lucca would petition for Bartoletti's cause of sanctification came on 8 December 1998 following a diocesan event. The transfer of the competent forum for the process was transferred from Rome to Lucca on 28 June 2007. The title

was bestowed upon Bartoletti on 4 September 2007 after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints - under

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

- granted their approval to the beginning of the process. The diocesan process opened on 11 November 2007. The process concluded at a closing Mass held on 9 October 2016. The first

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

from the beginning of the cause was the Capuchin Carlo Calloni while the current postulator is fellow Capuchin friar Florio Tessari. The vice-postulator is Emilio Citti.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartoletti, Enrico 1916 births 1976 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Italian people 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Almo Collegio Capranica alumni Clergy from Florence Italian Servants of God Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Italian resistance movement members