Sante Portalupi, also Portaluppi, (1 November 1909 – 31 March 1984) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career 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 1959 until his death he held the senior position as apostolic delegate or apostolic nuncio in several countries in Latin America and Africa, ending his career as

Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal The Apostolic Nunciature to the Republic of Portugal is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. For ...

Biography

Sante Portalupi was born in Mortara, Italy, on 1 November 1909. He was ordained a priest on 15 April 15, 1933. That same year he entered the

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 ...

to prepare for a career in the diplomatic service. He completed his doctorate in canon law at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in 1936 with a dissertation on "The organic articles annexed to the Napoleonic concordat of 1801". His early assignments include a posting to Paraguay, where he was chargé d'affaires in 1949. On 29 January 1959,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Honduras and to Nicaragua. On 14 October 1961, Pope John named him Titular Archbishop of Christopolis. He received his episcopal consecration on 3 December from Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella. In January 1967, he helped negotiate the release of American hostages held by anti-government rebels. On 27 September 1967,

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, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

appointed Portalupi Apostolic Delegate to Northern Africa. In the years that followed, the Holy See established relationships with countries within Portalupi's mandate as delegate, and he took on the additional titles of Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Algeria on 6 March 1972, Pro-Nuncio to Tunisia on 22 March 1972, and Pro-Nuncio to Morocco on 5 March 1976. These modifications left his role as Delegate to Northern Africa with responsibility for a single country, and his delegate's title changed to Apostolic Delegate to Libya. Pope John Paul II appointed him

on 15 December 1979. When Pope John Paul sought to fulfill the instructions relayed by Sister Lúcia of Fatima calling for the consecration of Russia to the Virgin Mary, Portalupi interviewed her in 1982 and again in 1983 to ascertain whether the instructions had been carried out properly. He died while still in that post on 31 March 1984. In 1995, the local government of Mortara mounted a plaque on the house where he was born and baptized there. Portalupi left the building to Caritas of Vigano for use as a nursery; it has become social housing.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portalupi, Sante 1909 births 1984 deaths People from the Province of Pavia Apostolic Nuncios to Honduras Apostolic Nuncios to Nicaragua Apostolic Nuncios to Algeria Apostolic Nuncios to Tunisia Apostolic Nuncios to Morocco Apostolic Nuncios to Libya Apostolic Nuncios to Portugal

Biography

See also

Notes

References