Placido Maria Schiaffino,
O.S.B. Oliv. (8 September 1829 – 23 September 1889) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Benedictine order and in the
Roman Curia. He was made a cardinal in 1885.
Biography
Placido Maria Schiaffino was born to a family of modest means in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
on 5 September 1829.
[ Extract from ''La Revue Générale'', November 1889, 15 pages.] He studied there and entered the
Order of Saint Benedict Olivetana at the monastery of San Girolamo di
Quarto a Mare near Genoa in 1846, taking his vows on 17 October 1847. He studied philosophy at
Collegio Romano
The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...
in 1847, but political turmoil interrupted his education and he became master of novices in the Olivetan monastery of Sicily the next year. He took up his studies in Rome again in 1850, was ordained a priest in 1852, and earned his doctorate in theology in 1854.
Based in the convent of Monte Oliveto Maggiore in Siena, he was a preacher for several years and became chancellor of his congregation on 15 May 1859 and abbot ordinary and vicar general of his congregation on 3 June 1870, and in that role participated in the
First Vatican Council.
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
, who while bishop of Perugia had heard Schiaffino preach in 1868, appointed him titular bishop of
Nissa on 30 August 1878. He received his episcopal consecration on 1 September 1878 from Cardinal
Raffaele Monaco La Valletta
Raffaele Monaco La Valletta S.T.D. J.U.D. (23 February 1827 – 14 July 1896) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office.
Education
Raffaele Monaco La Vallet ...
, vicar general of Rome and was named president of the
Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Noble on 2 November 1878. Pope Leo made him secretary of the
Congregation of Bishops and Regulars The Congregation of Bishops and Regulars () was a department of the Roman Curia that, beginning in the late 16th century, managed the diocesan bishops and those individuals, both male and female, and establishments associated with religious orders. ...
on 18 November 1884.
Pope Leo raised him to the rank of cardinal on 27 July 1885 and assigned him as a cardinal priest the title of
Santi Giovanni e Paolo on 30 July.
He was named prefect of the
Congregation of the Index
The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidde ...
on 6 April 1888, where he served until he was appointed
Vatican Librarian on 20 February 1889.
Beginning 18 May 1889, he was also the administrator of the
Benedictine abbey in Subiaco.
He died in the abbey of Subiaco on 23 September 1889 at the age of 60.
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References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiaffino, Placido Maria
1829 births
1889 deaths
People from Genoa
Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII
Officials of the Roman Curia
Benedictine cardinals