Leone Giovanni Battista Nigris (27 August 1884 – 21 September 1964) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in Albania. He became an archbishop in 1938.

Biography

Leone Giovanni Battista Nigris was born on 27 August 1884 in

Ampezzo Ampezzo ( fur, Dimpeç, german: Petsch) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine. As of 31 December 2004, it had a popula ...

, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 18 July 1909. He devoted the next twenty years to teaching and education administration. On 18 August 1938,

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 ...

appointed him titular archbishop of

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

and Apostolic Delegate to Albania. He received his episcopal consecration on 25 September 1938 from Giuseppe Nogara, Archbishop of Udine. On 11 November 1939,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

named him Apostolic Administrator of Southern Albania. In this traditional Orthodox rather than Catholic region of Albania he guided Catholic missionaries to a less aggressive approach to conversions, advising the less aggressive approach of persuasion by providing models of virtuous life rather than through argument; he was suspicious of mass conversions. He feared the Italian occupation of Albania in 1939 would harden sectarian divisions. In 1945 the new Communist government, intent on establishing a national church without ties to Rome, had him arrested an expelled from Albania as ''persona non grata''. Returned to Rome, he became secretary of the

Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

. He died in Rome on 21 September 1964 at the age of 80.

Notes

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Leone Giovanni Battista Nigris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigris, Leone Giovanni Battista 1884 births 1964 deaths People from the Province of Udine 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Albania Apostolic Nuncios to Albania Officials of the Roman Curia