Giovanni Vincenzo Bracco (14 September 1835 – 19 June 1889) 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 served as the

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ( la, Patriarchatus Latinus Hierosolymitanus) is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, wit ...

from 1873 to his death in 1889.

Biography

John Vincent Bracco studied in Porto Maurizio and entered at the Alberga Seminary in 1854 to prepare to the priesthood. In 1855 he entered at Brignole Sale College at Genoa. On 18 June 1859 he received the ordination. In 1860 Bracco came as a missionary to Jerusalem. He taught philosophy and was from 1862 until his death rector of the seminary in Jerusalem.

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

appointed Vincenzo Bracco in 1866

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 and ordered him to Auxiliary bishop in Jerusalem. His episcopal ordination was given to him on 13 May 1866 by reigning patriarch

Giuseppe Valerga Giuseppe Valerga (9 April 1813 – 2 December 1872) was the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1847 until his death in 1872; the first resident such since the Crusades. He held the title of one of the fathers of the First Vatican Council. In addi ...

, and his co-consecrators were the Vicar Apostolic of Galla and later Cardinal

Guglielmo Massaia Guglielmo Massaia (9 June 1809 - 6 August 1889), born Lorenzo Massaia, was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who was also a missionary and Capuchin friar. His baptismal name was Lorenzo; he took Guglielmo as religious name. His ...

, OFM Cap, and an Armenian bishop. He was also beside his episcopate a

Vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

. In 1866 Pius IX appointed him Patriarch of Jerusalem, the only Roman Catholic Patriarch in the East. From 1873 until his death in 1889, he was Grand Master of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

. He died of pneumonia and was buried in the church of the Patriarchate, as was his predecessor Valerga.

References

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbracco.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Bracco, Giovanni Vincenzo 1835 births 1889 deaths Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops