Gaetano Mignani (31 August 1882 – 29 January 1973) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as

Apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of Kianfu (

Ji'an Ji'an () is a prefecture-level city situated in the central region of Jiangxi province of the People's Republic of China while bordering Hunan province to the west. It has an area of and as of the 2020 census, had a population of 4,469,176, of ...

Prefecture), he became the first Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ji'an when the region was elevated to a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

in 1946, a position he would hold until 1951, when the new Communist government expelled him from the country.

Biography

Born 31 August 1882 in Piumazza di Castelfranco Emilia,

Bologna, Italy Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, Mignani was a member of the Congregation of the Mission, commonly known as the Vincentians, professing at 21 years of age in 1904. Ordained to the priesthood on 19 March 1905, Mignani served as a missionary in China. At the age of 45, he was appointed

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of Kianfu, receiving his episcopal consecration with the titular see of Cassandria on 17 February 1929. Succeeding to the Vicariate of Kianfu on 15 October 1931 following the retirement of Monsignor Nicola Cicero CM. When Kianfu i'an was elevated to a

on 11 April 1946 by Pope Pius XII, Mignani became its first bishop. On 14 June 1951, Chinese police escorted him to the Hong Kong frontier and he was expelled from China.''The Tablet'', volume 198, page 16 He participated in all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

. Mignani retained his office until his death in Rome on 29 January 1973, at 90 years of age. In his will, Bishop Mignani requested to be buried in his Cathedral of Ji'an, but due to political unrest in China, his remains still lie at the Verano Cemetery of Rome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mignani, Gaetano 1882 births 1973 deaths Clergy from Bologna Roman Catholic missionaries in China Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Italian expatriates in China Burials at Campo Verano 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China