Pacifico Tiziano Micheloni
OFM Cap. (8 March 1881 – 6 July 1936 ) was an Italian
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
and
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
who served as the
Apostolic Vicar of Arabia from 25 April 1933 to 6 July 1936, he also served as the
Titular Bishop
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 ...
of
Lete.
Life
Monsignor Pacifico Tiziano Micheloni was born in
Vernio
Vernio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Prato in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about north of Prato.
History
Vernio's name derives from that of an ancient Roman winter camp ('' castra ...
on 8 March 1881 to Petronio Paoletti and Rosa Paoletti. He entered the
novitiate on 11 April 1896, and he completed his novitiate in
Montepulciano
Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome b ...
and continued his studies in
Arezzo. and was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
a priest on 15 August 1901.
He was then sent to England to learn the English language. From 1907 he worked in
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...
and from 1920 in
Aden, there he was Secretary of the Bishop and
Capuchin Superior.
In 1928 he was appointed
Apostolic Administrator of Arabia and one of the first problems that faced him was the
Somalian Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
, After having studied the numerous documents concerning the
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
in that vast territory and having thoroughly investigated the advisability of opening a
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
among the numerous
Tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
s, Father Micheloni understood that the time had come to move into more territory.
Despite the difficulties encountered from the
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
the Protectorate of British Somalia, who did not like the presence of
Catholic missionaries
Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...
, in 1930, Father Micheloni first managed to obtain a
residence permit
A residence permit (less commonly ''residency permit'') is a document or card required in some regions, allowing a foreign national to reside in a country for a fixed or indefinite length of time.
These may be permits for temporary residency, or p ...
in
Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
from the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
for no more than four months a year, and subsequently the right to stop on the
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
for seven months a year and to be able to travel throughout
British Somalia. Father Micheloni was the first to make use of the
permits, and this allowed him in the months of May and June 1931, to travel throughout
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, where he organized numerous meetings with
Somali Catholics and
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
leaders who requested the need for
missionaries in their area.
Episcopal Ministry in Arabia
On 25 April 1933,
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 f ...
appointed him
Apostolic Vicar of Arabia and
Titular Bishop
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 ...
of
Lete. He received
episcopal ordination
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
on 8 September from the
Bishop of Pistoia and
Prato,
Giuseppe Debernardi and co-consecrating were the
Bishop of Pescia,
Angelo Simonetti and
Bishop of Imola
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola ( la, Diocesis Imolensis) is a territory in Romagna, northern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bologna. ,
Paolino Giovanni Tribbioli.
The following year Msgr. Micheloni returned to the
Vicariate, where he was able to maintain diplomatic relations with
The British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. I ...
to expand the
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
presence in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, which, at that time, consisted of only one religious, Father
Adolfo da Lasalla. The difficulties were numerous. An initial disapproval from the
British Authorities,
all be expressed unofficially, was followed by a severe stiffening of the permissions granted, motivated by "alleged" street demonstrations by the Missionaries. Msgr. Micheloni hence rushed to
Berbera
Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...
,
where he discovered that there had been only a small demonstration. Msgr, Micheloni later stated that – "the governor, moved by fears for himself and the
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
, regretted the concessions and had himself staged the demonstration to justify the sudden change. The reality, however, was substantially different"
Msgr. Micheloni traveled all over Somalia again, with the company of a young
Christian, and often had numerous requests to remain in the Villages without ever being marked as inconsiderate.
He paid particular attention to the numerous
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...
s in
Aden. "They are fine – he wrote in 1932 – but they will not be able to thrive until they can be transported to
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. All the orphans are
Somalis
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
and are uncomfortable in the climate of
Aden". On the other hand, the schools generally welcome older children and, almost always, with their families on the spot, had more impact on the future of the
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
. At the time, there were seventeen
Government Schools,
including five of the mission in
Aden. The latter, however, had a higher number of pupils than the others. There was no lack of problems, primarily due to the presence of
Catholic
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
Muslim students, in the same classes with considerable risks for education to the
Catholic
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 ...
faith.
Death
Unfortunately, the extended stay in
Aden slowly but surely took a toll on the young bishop's health, who was forced to leave the mission and left for Italy, he died in
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 ...
on 6 June 1936 at the age of 55.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Micheloni, Pacifico Tiziano
1881 births
1936 deaths
Roman Catholic bishops in the Middle East
20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular bishops
Capuchin bishops
People from the Province of Prato
Catholic missionaries in Arabia
Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia
Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula