Pietro Sigismondi (23 February 1908 – 25 May 1967) 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 1934 to 1954 and then held a senior position in the
Roman Curia for thirteen years.
Biography
Pietro Sigismondi was born on 23 February 1908 in
Villa d'Almè
Villa d'Almè (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo.
Villa d'Almè borders the following municipalities: A ...
, Italy. He was ordained a priest of the
Diocese of Bergamo
The Diocese of Bergamo ( la, Dioecesis Bergomensis; it, Diocesi di Bergamo; lmo, Diocesi de Bergum) is a see of the Catholic Church in Italy, and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan.[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 1933.
His first posting was as secretary of nunciature in Paris in 1934. In 1939 he returned to Rome and worked at the
Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs
The Section for Relations with States or Second Section of the Secretariat of State is the body within the Roman Curia charged with dealing with matters that involve relations with civil governments. It has been part of the Vatican Secretariat o ...
in the Secretariat of State to 1949. He then spent six months in Belgrade.
On 16 December 1949,
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 ...
appointed him titular archbishop of
Neapolis in Pisidia and
Apostolic Delegate
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 o ...
to both the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
and
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
. He received his episcopal consecration on 8 January 1950 from Cardinal
Pietro Fumasoni Biondi
Pietro Fumasoni Biondi (4 September 1872 – 12 July 1960) was an Italian people, Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Sacred Cong ...
.
In 1954, Pope Pius appointed him 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 was named a consultor to
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...
on 9 December 1954.
He died on 25 May 1967 at the age of 59.
References
External links
Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Pietro Sigismondi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigismondi, Pietro
1908 births
1967 deaths
Clergy from the Province of Bergamo
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni
Officials of the Roman Curia
Apostolic Nuncios to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Apostolic Nuncios to Rwanda