Sebastiano Baggio (16 May 1913 – 21 March 1993) was an Italian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, often thought to be a likely candidate for election to the papacy. He served as

President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State ( la, Pontificia Commissio pro Civitate Vaticana, it, Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Città del Vaticano;) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who als ...

from 1984 to 1990 and was

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the Sacred

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...

from 1973 to 1984.

Early life and priestly ministry

Born in

Rosà Rosà is a town of 14.328 inhabitants in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. The name comes from the Latin word "roxata", the ancient name of the biggest irrigation channel that passed in that area. The municipality has got 4 hamlets (Trave ...

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, Sebastiano was ordained a priest on 21 December 1935, at the age of 22, in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

. He took postgraduate studies and joined the Holy See's diplomatic service with the first posting as attaché to the Apostolic nunciature in Austria in 1938.

Episcopal ministry

In 1953 he was consecrated a bishop and given the rank of archbishop. He served as Apostolic Nuncio to Chile from 1953 to 1959; Apostolic Delegate to Canada from 1959 to 1964; and Apostolic Nuncio to Brazil from 1964 to 1969.

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 ...

raised him to the rank of cardinal on 30 April 1969 assigning him as a cardinal deacon the title of

Santi Angeli Custodi a Città Giardino Santi Angeli Custodi (Holy Guardian Angels), churchOf titular status since Pope Paul VI made it a cardinal-deaconry in 1965, appointing Alfredo Pacini as its first cardinal occupant (assigning this church as a title) in 1967. on Via Alpi Apuane, ...

. Pope Paul appointed him

Archbishop of Cagliari The Archdiocese of Cagliari ( la, Archidioecesis Calaritana) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese centred on the city of Cagliari. It holds the Primacy of Sardinia.Congregation of Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the congregation (Roman Curia), department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require pope, papal approval to take effect, bu ...

, whose task is to prepare lists of candidates for the episcopacy. One obituary in the London Independent noted that: "though Baggio always insisted that he was not the bishop-maker - he proposed while the Pope alone disposed - he did in effect have considerable powers of patronage. He had immense knowledge of the dossiers of possible candidates, and knew their weaknesses for drink or women.". He was credited as a talent spotter in furthering the episcopal career of Cardinal

Alfonso López Trujillo Alfonso López Trujillo (8 November 1935 – 19 April 2008) was a Colombian Cardinal Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Biography Youth Born in Villahermosa, Tolima, López Trujillo mov ...

who shared many of Baggio's concern at the direction of the Church in South America. The same obituary, written by the respected Catholic journalist

Peter Hebblethwaite Peter Hebblethwaite (30 September 1930 – 18 December 1994) was a British Jesuit priest and writer. After leaving the priesthood, he became an editor, journalist (' Vaticanologist') and biographer. Life Hebblethwaite was born in Ashton-unde ...

, drew attention to Baggio's relationship with

Opus Dei Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei ( la, Praelatura Sanctae Crucis et Operis Dei), is an institution of the Catholic Church whose members seek personal Christian holiness and strive to imbue their work ...

and his battles with Fr

Pedro Arrupe Pedro Arrupe Gondra, SJ (14 November 1907 – 5 February 1991) was a Spanish Basque priest who served as the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. He has been called a second founder of the Society, as he led the Jesui ...

, the Jesuit General, over the future of Central American policy: "Baggio - and Pope John Paul - wanted a 'unitary policy' for Central America which the Jesuits and other religious thought impossible in view of the different situations: civil war in El Salvador, dictatorship in Panama, a post-revolutionary regime in Nicaragua, and a persecuting born-again General in Guatemala." He participated in the two conclaves of 1978 and when he died in 1993 at

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 ...

at age 79 was both

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regu ...

, and a sub dean of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

. He had been a priest for 57 years, a bishop for 39 years and a cardinal for 23 years. Described as "affable, smiling, squat and somewhat worldly, Baggio was deeply attached to his native Rosà and not only willed that his remains were to be buried in the family tomb but inside the local cemetery."

References

External links

Catholic HierarchyBishop-maker Baggio is dead
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baggio, Sebastiano 1913 births 1993 deaths Presidents of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Italian cardinals Apostolic Nuncios to Brazil Apostolic Nuncios to Canada Apostolic Nuncios to Chile People from the Province of Vicenza Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Members of the Congregation for Bishops Pontifical Commission for Latin America Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Patrons of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta