Ovidio Lari (2 January 1919 – 2 February 2007) was an Italian ordinary of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

Bishop of Aosta french: Diocèse d'Aoste , image = Aosta Cattedrale.JPG , image_size = 255px , image_alt = Facade of Cathedral of Aosta , caption = Aosta Cathedral , country = Italy , metropolitan = , ...

Biography

Ovidio Lari was born on 2 January 1919 in the ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of Fabbrica in

Peccioli Peccioli () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Pisa. Main sights *''Pieve'' di San Varano, most likely built between the end of the 11 ...

, a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the Province of Pisa and the Diocese of Volterra, both of which are in the Italian region of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Priestly ministry

He was ordained a priest on 10 August 1941, after which he became the chaplain of the Cathedral of Volterra. He also received a Doctor of Theology from the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Lari served as a professor of literature, philosophy, and theology at seminary of Volterra from 1941 to 1968 and as a professor of letters at the Pontifical Regional Seminary "Pius XII" in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

from 1955 to 1958. He was director of the weekly magazine of the Diocese of Volterra, ''L'Araldo'' (), from 1953 to 1968 and was the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the Cathedral of Volterra from 1948 to 1968. He has participated as an expert in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

with the Bishop of Volterra, Marino Bergonzini.

Episcopal ministry

On 15 October 1968,

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 State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

appointed Lari as the

, succeeding Mathurin Blanchet. He received his episcopal ordination on 30 November, Bishop Marino Bergonzini acting as the principal consecrator and Bishops Abele Conigli and Carlo Colombo as co-consecrators. He was installed in the diocese on 8 December of that year. During his episcopate, he welcomed a pastoral visit from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1986 during his vacation in Les Combes. He also visited all the parishes the diocese and repeatedly called for a diocesan synod, which was held from 1988 to 1993. On 30 December 1994, Pope John Paul II accepted his resignation due to age. He was succeeded as Bishop of Aosta by

Giuseppe Anfossi Giuseppe Anfossi (born 7 March 1935) is the bishop emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aosta from 1994 to 2011. Biography He was ordained priest on 1959. He was appointed bishop of Aosta on 30 December 1994. He was consecrated on 22 Jan ...

. Lari retired at first to Castelfiorentino and then to the Fabbrica ''frazione'' of

, where he died on 2 February 2007. The funeral was held on 5 February in the Cathedral of Volterra and on 6 February in the Cathedral of Aosta and he was buried in the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lari, Ovidio 1919 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Aosta People from the Province of Pisa Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni