Francesco Bertoglio (15 February 1900 – 6 July 1977) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Rector of the

Pontifical Lombard Seminary The Pontifical Lombard Seminary of Saints Ambrose and Charles in Urbe (Italian: ) is an ecclesiastical institution that serves as a residence for and trains diocesan priests who have been sent to Rome by their bishop to pursue an advanced degree or ...

in Rome for more than twenty-five years and later Auxiliary Bishop of Milan. During World War II he sheltered dozens of Jews and political refugees and helped them evade capture by the Nazis.

Biography

Francesco Bertoglio was born on 15 February 1900 in

Magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish-red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blue. I ...

, Italy. He studied at the

in Rome, where he joined his fellow student

Giovanni Battista Montini 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 ...

, the future Pope Paul VI, on 16 November 1920, arriving late for the start of the term because he was completing his World War I service in the Italian army. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Milan on 31 March 1923. He continued his studies at the Seminary until 1924, earning a degree in theology. He then returned to Milan where he served as vice-rector of the gymnasium (secondary school) and taught at the seminary. He moved to Rome to lead his alma mater as Rector of the Pontifical Lombard Seminary, beginning on 16 July 1933; he held that post for more than 27 years. During the Nazi occupation of Rome, the Seminary sheltered more than a hundred Jews and several political refugees. On the night of 21–22 December 1943, the Nazi Koch Band invaded and searched the Seminary building. Bertoglio challenged them and was instrumental in holding them off long enough for most of the people they were after to escape. For his work that night and other assistance in providing shelter and forged documents he was later recognized as

Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

. On 1 September 1960,

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 ...

named him titular bishop of

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. He received his episcopal consecration on 28 October 1960 from Pope John. He continued his work at the Seminary for several months, ending his tenure as Rector on 5 January 1961. He then led the Archconfraternity of SS. Ambrogio and Carlo, an association that had long supported the Seminary. He developed a plan for a seminary similar to the Lombard Seminary but having as its mission the education and spiritual formation of non-Italian clerics nominated by their bishops in an international community. In 1963 he won approval from the Congregation for Seminaries, now the

Congregation for Catholic Education , type = Congregation , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg , picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...

, for the proposed institution, to be named the International Ecclesiastical College of Saint Charles Borromeo. He was also postulator for the cause of

Andrea Carlo Ferrari Andrea Ferrari (13 August 1850 – 2 February 1921) – later adopting the middle name "Carlo" – was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served as a cardinal and as the Archbishop of Milan from 1894 until his death. Ferrari was a well-re ...

, which was opened 10 February 1963. In 1964, he became auxiliary bishop of Milan. Bertoglio died on 6 July 1977 at the age of 77.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertoglio, Francesco 1900 births 1977 deaths Clergy from Milan 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops