Giuseppe Maria Bozzi (6 January 1772 - 14 December 1833) was an Italian priest who became

Bishop of Mantua The Diocese of Mantua ( la, Dioecesis Mantuana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. The diocese existed at the beginning of the 8th century, though the earliest attested bishop is Laiulfus (827). ...

, based in the city of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, Italy.

Biography

Early years

Giuseppe Maria Bozzi was born in

Rosate Rosate ( lmo, label=Milanese, Rosaa ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan. Rosate borders the following municipalities: Gaggiano, Gudo Visconti, ...

, Milan on 7 January 1772. His father, Giovanni Antonio, had a farm at Rosate, and in 1767 had married Maddalena Belloni, from the nearby town of Casorate. He entered the seminary in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and by the age of 23 was a deacon and had earned a degree in Moral Theology at the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

. He exercised his ministry in the Milanese monastery of St. Eustorgius, in the college of the oblates of

Rho Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...

, and as provost in the parish church of his native Rosata. Bozzi was ordained a priest on 10 January 1796. In 1802 he was appointed parish priest of the church of S. Maria Nuova of

Abbiategrasso Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso. (local lmo, Biegrass ; lmo, label= Milanese, Biaa ), is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately from Milan and ...

. He remained in this village until 1816, when he was appointed provost of

Casorate Primo Casorate Primo (Milanese dialect of Western Lombard: ''Casurà'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan and about northwest of Pavia. Casorate Primo borders th ...

Bishop

Bozzi was appointed Bishop of Mantova on 16 June 1823, at the age of fifty. The position had been vacant for fifteen years. At the time, Mantua was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Emperor

Francis I of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

chose Bozzi and he was consecrated by the future

Pope Pius VIII Pope Pius VIII ( it, Pio VIII; born Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni; 20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in November 1830. Pius VIII's ...

. Bozzi was "preceded by a great reputation for spiritual qualities and for doctrine", as stated in a report of the time. He undertook a pastoral visit of his diocese. He transferred the Bishop's residence to the Palazzo Bianchi and transformed the old Bishop's Palace into a seminary. In 1828 Bozzi became ill, and by the next year was no longer able to govern the diocese. He died on 14 December 1833 without having recovered. He was buried in the choir of the cathedral church.

References

Citations Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bozzi, Giuseppe Maria 1772 births 1833 deaths Bishops of Mantua

Biography

Early years

Bishop

See also

References