Mario Giardini (4 December 1877 – 30 August 1947) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served 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 ...

from 1918 to 1933.

Biography

Mario Giardini was born on 4 December 1877 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 ...

. He was ordained a priest on 24 September 1904. He was a member of the

Barnabites , image = Barnabites.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = One version of the Barnabite logo. "P.A." refers to Paul the Apostle and the three hills symbolize the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. , a ...

and early in his career worked as a parish priest and master of novices for his order. On 21 November 1921,

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 ...

named him

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 ...

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

and Apostolic Delegate to Japan. He received his episcopal consecration on 8 December 1921 from Cardinal

Andrea Carlo Ferrari Andrea Ferrari (13 August 1850 – 2 February 1921) – later adopting the middle name "Carlo" – was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served as a cardinal and as the Archbishop of Milan from 1894 until his death. Ferrari was a well- ...

. He called a provincial synod to address the question of Catholic participation in Shinto ceremonies and the first Japanese bishop,

Januarius Kyunosuke Hayasaka Januarius Kyunosuke Hayasaka (August 14, 1883 – October 26, 1976) was a bishop of the Catholic Church of Showa from Meiji. His baptismal name was "Yanuario". Hayasaka was the first Japanese-ethnicity bishop. He served as a diocesan bi ...

, was appointed in 1926. Both were steps in the local hierarchy gaining its independence from the

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons de ...

. Negotiations toward the establishment of diplomatic relations made progress but were blocked by Buddhist opposition in parliament. When his successor, Edward Mooney, was appointed on 30 March 1931, Giardino remained in Japan until Mooney arrived from India and then remained for ten days to share information. On 16 May 1931, Pope Pius XI appointed him

Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo 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 ...

. He retired from this position on 5 February 1940. He continued to work reviewing clergy for the Vicariate of Rome. He died on 30 August 1947 at the age of 69.

Notes

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Mario Giardini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giardini, Mario 1877 births 1947 deaths Clergy from Milan Apostolic Nuncios to Japan Diplomats from Milan Bishops of Edessa