Giovanni Cagliero SDB (11 January 1838 – 28 February 1926) was an Italian prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who worked as a missionary in South America and served as

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international o ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

from 1908 to 1915 when he was elevated to the rank of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. A member of the Salesians, he was the first member of that order to become a bishop and the first to be made a cardinal.

Biography

Cagliero was born in

Castelnuovo d'Asti Castelnuovo Don Bosco, formerly Castelnuovo d'Asti (Piedmontese: ''Castelneuv d'Ast'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Asti, on a hill near ...

on 11 January 1838 and studied at its

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, ...

and later the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...

. He entered the Pious Society of St. Francis de Sales, more commonly known as the Salesians, in 1851. He received the clerical habit from

St. John Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

himself and was reputed to be his favorite pupil. Cagliero was also a classmate of St

Dominic Savio Dominic Savio ( it, Domenico Savio; 2 April 1842 – 9 March 1857) was an Italian student of John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy. He was noted for his piety and devotio ...

and Bl.

Michael Rua Michele Rua ( eng, Michael Rua; 9 June 1837 – 6 April 1910) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Catholic priest, priest and professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Rua was a student under John Bosco, Don Bosco and was also the ...

. 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 va ...

to the priesthood on 14 June 1862, and then taught at the Salesian House of Studies in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

until 1875. Cagliero led the first ten Salesians to

America 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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and established five houses in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

between 1875 and 1877, after which he became

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

of his society and the first General Director of Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. He was made

Pro Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...

- Apostolic Vicar of new vicariate in Northern Patagonia, in Argentina, on 20 November 1883. On 30 October 1884, Cagliero was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Magydus by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

, receiving his episcopal consecration on the following December 7 from Cardinal

Gaetano Alimonda Gaetano Alimonda (23 October 1818 – 30 May 1891) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was Archbishop of Turin from 1883 until his death. He was previously Bishop of Albenga from 1877 to 1879. He was made a cardinal in 1879. Biog ...

. After being promoted to Titular Archbishop of Sebastea on 24 March 1904, he served as Apostolic Visitor to the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

s of Bobbio, Piacenza,

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

, and

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

in 1904. Cagliero was named

on 10 June 1908, to

on 19 December, and to

on 26 December.

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

made him Cardinal-Priest of San Bernardo alle Terme in the consistory of 6 December 1915. Cagliero opted for the order of

Cardinal-Bishop 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 ...

and assumed the suburbicarian see of Frascati on 16 December 1920. He was one of the

cardinal electors 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 ...

who participated in the

1922 papal conclave The 1922 papal conclave was held following Pope Benedict XV's death from pneumonia on 22 January 1922 after a reign of eight years. 53 of the 60 cardinals assembled in the Sistine Chapel eleven days later on 2 February to elect his successor. The ...

, which elected

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

Death and memory

Cardinal Cagliero died in

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 ...

on 28 February 1926 at the age of 88. He was initially buried in the sepulchre of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...

cemetery, but his remains were transferred in 1964 to Mater Misericordiae Cathedral in Viedma.

References

External links

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cagliero, Giovanni 1838 births 1926 deaths 20th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Salesians of Don Bosco People from Castelnuovo Don Bosco Salesian bishops Salesian cardinals Apostolic Nuncios to Costa Rica Apostolic Nuncios to Honduras Apostolic Nuncios to Nicaragua 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops