Giuseppe Germano Bernardini,

OFMCap The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

(born 27 September 1928) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked as a missionary in Muslim-majority countries from 1957 to 2004 and served as

Archbishop of Izmir 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 archdioc ...

, Turkey, from 1983 to 2004.

Biography

Giuseppe Germano Bernardini was born in Verica, a village in

Pavullo nel Frignano Pavullo nel Frignano ( Frignanese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Modenese Apeninnes. It is home to the medieval Castle of Montecuccolo, birthplace of the 17th century condottiero Raimondo Mon ...

, Italy, on 27 September 1928, the son of Sergio and Domenica Bernardini, both declared "Venerable" by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

in 2015. He was ordained a priest of the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

on 21 March 1953. His career as a missionary in Muslim countries began in 1957. On 19 December 1966 he was named Ecclesiastical Administrator of

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

. On 22 January 1983,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him Archbishop of Izmir. He received his episcopal consecration on 9 April from Archbishop

Bruno Foresti Bruno Foresti (6 May 1923 – 26 July 2022) was an Italian prelate of Catholic Church. At the time of his death at age , he was the oldest living Catholic bishop from Italy. Foresti was born in Tavernola Bergamasca, Italy and was ordained a pr ...

. When the Vicariate of Anatolia was erected from the jurisdiction he once led as the Trabzon Mission on 30 November 1990, he was named Apostolic Administrator. He chaired the

Episcopal Conference of Turkey Episcopal Conference of Turkey is the committee meeting of the Catholic bishops in Turkey of the various ritual churches. It is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), and a guest member of the Southeast European Bishops ...

from 1989 to 1992. On 13 October 1999, addressing a meeting of the Synod of Bishops, the 2nd Special Assembly for Europe, he warned that Islam was intent on dominating Christian Europe. He said: "The 'domination' has already started with petrodollars, used not to create jobs in poor countries in North Africa and the Middle East, but to build mosques and cultural centers in Christian countries ... including Rome, center of Christianity". He advised especially against allowing Muslims to use Christian churches for their services. He called interfaith meetings with Muslims "a dialogue of the deaf". He retired on 11 October 2004 upon the appointment of his successor,

Ruggero Franceschini Ruggero Franceschini, OFMCap (born 1 September 1939) is an Italian archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Ruggero Franceshini was born in Prignano sulla Secchia, Italy, on 1 September 1938. He entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardini, Giuseppe Germano 1928 births Living people Religious leaders from the Province of Modena Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Franciscan bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Turkey 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Turkey Italian expatriates in Turkey Roman Catholic archbishops of Izmir Italian expatriate bishops