John Joseph Frederick Otto Zardetti ( January 24, 1847 – May 10, 1902) was a Swiss prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest in what is today

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

from 1894 to 1895. Zardetti previously served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Saint Cloud in Minnesota in the United States from 1889 to 1894. After resigning as archbishop, Zardetti briefly served in the Roman Curia with the title of titular archbishop of Mocissus.

Biography

Early life

Otto Zardetti was born on January 24, 1847, in

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

, Switzerland, to Eugen Zardetti and Annette Anna, born von Bayer, an upper-middle-class family who dealt in canvas and colonial goods. His ancestors had moved to Switzerland from Villa, Val Anasca, Italy, at the end of the eighteenth century, because his grandfather had married into the patrician family von Bayer. Zardetti attended the local primary and secondary school in Rorschach, then the Stella Matutina school in

Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to: Places * Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria ** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria * Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He then returned to Switzerland, where he entered the Episcopalian boy's seminary in St. Georgen next to the city of

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

. Zardetti received his university education in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and philosophy from the University of Innsbruck in

Innsbruck, Austria Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

. Because of his talent for languages, Zardetti was invited by Bishop

Karl Johann Greith Karl Johann Greith (b. at Rapperswil, Switzerland, 25 May 1807; d. at St. Gallen, 17 May 1882) was a Swiss Catholic bishop and church historian. Life He received his early education at St. Gall, then went to the lyceum at Lucerne and the Universi ...

to attend the First Vatican Council in Rome from November 1869 to Spring 1870. While in Rome, Zardetti met the future Bishop

Martin Marty Martin Emil Marty (born on February 5, 1928) is an American Lutheran religious scholar who has written extensively on religion in the United States. Early life and education Marty was born on February 5, 1928, in West Point The United Sta ...

, another Swiss priest. Returning to Innsbruck, Zardetti received a Doctor of Theology degree from the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

in 1870.

Priesthood

Zardetti was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Benedetto Riccabona de Reinchenfels in 1870 in

.Emmerich Gmeiner ''Eugen Zardetti und die Auto-Voralberger'' (Hard 2007) His fluency in French, English and Italian as well as German brought him a post as professor in rhetoric in St. Georgen (1871-1874). After that he became director of the Abbey Library of

Saint Gall Gall ( la, Gallus; 550 646) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Deicolus was the elder brother of Gall. Biography The ...

(1874-1876) and then canon (Domkustos) at the Diocese of St. Gallen (1876-1881). In 1879, Zardetti embarked on a four month trip to America. Returning to Switzerland, he soon received an offer from Archbishop Michael Heiss of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to teach dogmatics at the Metropolitan Seminary of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Zardetti arrived in Wisconsin in late 1881. In 1887, Bishop Marty appointed Zardetti as general vicar for the Dakota Vicariate.

Bishop of Saint Cloud

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 ...

appointed Zardetti on October 3, 1889, to be the first bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud. Traveling in Europe at that time, he was consecrated in Einsiedlen, Switzerland, on October 20, 1889, by Archbishop William Gross. Zardetti immediately started construction of a suitable building to serve as the diocesan cathedral. He worked to enlarge the parochial school system and created a newspaper for the diocese. Zardetti became known throughout the country for his oratorical skills. Suffering from chronic health problems that were aggravated by the harsh

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

climate and much traveling, Zardetti requested that the Vatican transfer him back in Europe.

Archbishop of Bucharest and member of Curia

Leo XIII appointed Zardetti as archbishop of the Archdiocese Bucharest on March 6, 1894. However, his health again became a problem. In response, Leo XIII accepted Zardetti's resignation on May 25, 1895 as archbishop of Bucharest, appointed him titular archbishop of Mocissus and named him to the Roman Curia. He became a canon to the Church of Saint John Lateran in Rome and as a consultor to two districts. He was named as an

assistant to the papal throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately belo ...

in 1899. During this period, Zardetti expressed his desire to visit Saint Cloud, but his health problems prevented it. Otto Zardetti died in Rome on May 10, 1902, at age 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zardetti, John Joseph Frederick Otto 1847 births 1902 deaths Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Swiss emigrants to the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Cloud 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Rorschach, Switzerland 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Ottoman Empire