Lino Zanini (6 May 1909 – 25 October 1997) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

for 45 years and then oversaw St. Peter's Basilica, including archaeological work and access improvements, for 15 years.

Biography

Lino Zanini was born in

Riese Pio X Riese may refer to: *Project Riese, a German Nazi World War II economic project *Riese Pio X, a municipality in Italy * Adam Ries (1492–1559), German mathematician *'' Riese: Kingdom Falling'' (originally named ''Riese''), an American science fic ...

, Italy, on 6 May 1909. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Venice on 2 July 1933. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

in 1937. He joined the Holy See's diplomatic corps in 1938; his early assignments in the diplomatic service included stints in Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Belgium and Lebanon. On 16 June 1959,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

named him a

titular archbishop 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 ...

and

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

to the Dominican Republic. He received his episcopal consecration on 3 September from Cardinal

Giovanni Urbani Giovanni Urbani (26 March 1900 – 17 September 1969) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Patriarch of Venice from 1958 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. He was considered to be ov ...

. Though the Church hierarchy in Santo Domingo had supported the regime of dictator

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

for decades, Zanini was charged with reversing that posture. At the very start, to maintain his distance from the government, he scheduled his arrival for the day after the birthday celebrations for Dominican dictator

. The government declared him ''persona non grata'' and he left the country on 21 May 1960. He returned to Rome and worked at the Secretariat of State. On 30 May 1962, Pope John appointed him Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine. On 4 January 1966,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named him Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Egypt. On 7 May 1969, Pope Paul appointed him Nuncio to Argentina. He returned to Rome, where on 29 December 1973 he was named a delegate of the

Fabric of Saint Peter The Fabric of Saint Peter (, ) is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church responsible for the conservation and maintenance of St. Peter's Basilica and exercising vigilance over its sacred character and the organization of visitors. While it i ...

. He managed the construction of chapels in the grotto of the Basilica, with elevator access, and the restoration of its facade in the 1980s. From 1986 to 1989 he was president of the Permanent Commission for the Protection of Historical and Artistic Monuments of the Holy See. He died in

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

on 25 October 1997 at the age of 88.

Notes

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Lino Zanini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanini, Lino 1909 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to the Dominican Republic Apostolic Nuncios to Egypt Apostolic Nuncios to Argentina People from the Province of Treviso