Tommaso Maria Zigliara,
OP (29 October 1833 – 11 May 1893) was a Corsican priest of the
Catholic Church
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 ...
, a member of the
Dominicans, a
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
,
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and a
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 ...
.
Early life
Zigliara was born on 29 October 1833 at
Bonifacio a seaport of
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
. He was baptized "Francesco". His early
classical studies
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
were made in his native town under the Jesuit teacher, Father Aloysius Piras. At the age of eighteen he was received into the
Order of Preachers
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
at Rome, and made his religious profession in 1852 and studied philosophy at the College of Saint Thomas, the future
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''. From the beginning Zigliara was a student of uncommon brilliancy. He completed his theology studies at
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
where, on 17 May 1856, he was ordained by Gioacchino Pecci, Archbishop of Perugia and the future
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 ...
.
Career
Soon after ordination the young priest was appointed to teach philosophy, first in Rome, then at Corbara in his native Corsica, and later in the diocesan seminary at
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
while master of novices in the neighbouring convent at Gradi.
When his work at Viterbo was finished, he was called to Rome, again made master of novices. Zigliara taught at the ''Collegium Divi Thomae'', the future
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'', from 1870 to 1879, becoming a master in sacred theology and serving as regent of the college after 1873. Before assuming this latter duty, he was raised to the dignity of master in sacred theology. When his community was forced by the Italian Government in 1873 to give up the convent of the Minerva, Zigliara with other professors and students took refuge with the
Fathers of the Holy Ghost, who had charge of the
French College in Rome. Here the lectures were continued until a house near the Minerva was secured. Zigliara's fame was now widespread in Rome and elsewhere. French, Italian, German, English, and American bishops were eager to put some of their most promising students and young professors under his tuition.
Zigliara had a role in composing papal encyclicals that supported the revival of
Thomism
Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions a ...
and responded to the modernist crisis: ''
Aeterni Patris
''Aeterni Patris'' (English: Of the Eternal Father) was an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in August 1879, (not to be confused with the apostolic letter of the same name written by Pope Pius IX in 1868 calling the First Vatican Council). ...
'' and ''
Rerum novarum
''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pass ...
''.
Pope Leo XIII, long a friend of Zigliari, included him among the first group of prelates he made cardinals, creating him a cardinal deacon on 12 May 1879. He confirmed him as a cardinal priest assigned the titular church of
Santa Prassede
The Basilica of Saint Praxedes ( la, Basilica Sanctae Praxedis, it, Basilica di Santa Prassede all’Esquillino), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilic ...
on 1 June 1891.
In a consistory held on 16 January 1893, Zigliari exercised his option to join the highest order of cardinals, cardinal bishop, choosing to become
Bishop of Frascati
The Diocese of Frascati (Lat.: ''Tusculana'') is a suburbicarian see of the Holy Roman Church and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of the are ...
, one of the seven
suburbicarian see The seven suburbicarian dioceses are Roman Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose (titular) bishops are the (now six) ordinary members of the highest-ranking order of cardinals, the cardinal bishops (to which the cardinal-patriarc ...
s.
His health prevented him from being consecrated a bishop before his death in Rome on 11 May 1893.
Works
He was a member of seven Roman
congregation
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 administra ...
s, besides being prefect of the Congregation of Studies and co-president of the
Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas
The Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PAST; la, Pontificia Academia Sancti Thomae Aquinati) is a pontifical academy established on 15 October 1879 by Pope Leo XIII. The academy is one of the pontifical academies housed along with ...
. He was a man of deep piety and devotion, and a tireless student to the end of his life. In addition to his many duties as cardinal, he was entrusted with the superintendence of the
Leonine edition The ''Editio Leonina'' or Leonine Edition is the edition of the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas originally sponsored by Pope Leo XIII in 1879.
The Leonine Commission (''Commissio leonina'') is the group of scholars working on the ongoing project of ...
of the works of St. Thomas, the first volume of which contains his own commentary. He also found time to publish his "Propaedeutica ad Sacram Theologiam" and to write an extensive work on the sacraments, of which only the tracts on baptism and penance received final revision before his death. The most important, however, of Zigliara's works is his "Summa Philosophica", which enjoys a worldwide circulation. For many years this has been the textbook in a great number of the seminaries and colleges of Europe,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
; and around the turn of the 20th century it was adopted as the textbook for the philosophical examination in the
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...
. His other works are:
*''Osservazioni su alcune interpretazioni di G.C. Ubaghs sull' ideologia di San Tommaso d'Aquino'' (Viterbo, 1870)
*''Della luce intellettuale e dell' ontologismo secondo la dottrina di S. Bonaventura e Tommaso d'Aquino'' (2 vols., Rome, 1874)
*''De mente Concilii Viennensis in definiendo dogmate unionis animae humanae cum corpore'' (1878)
*''Commentaria S. Thomae in Aristotelis libros Peri Hermeneias et Posteriorum analyticorum'', in fol. vol. I new edit. "Opp. S. Thomae": (Rome, 1882)
*''Saggio sui principi del tradizionalismo''
*''Dimittatur e la spiegazione datane dalla S. Congregazione dell' Indice''.
By his teaching and through his writings, he was one of the chief instruments, under Leo XIII, of reviving and propagating
Thomistic philosophy
Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions ...
throughout the entire Church. In his own order and in some universities and seminaries, the teaching of St. Thomas had never been interrupted, but it was reserved for Zigliara to give a special impetus to the movement which has made Thomistic philosophy and theology dominant in the Catholic world.
References
External links
*
*
Translated excerpt from Zigliara's Summa philosophica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zigliara, Tommaso Maria
1833 births
1893 deaths
People from Corse-du-Sud
19th-century Italian cardinals
Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII
University of Perugia alumni
Cardinal-bishops of Frascati
19th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians
Thomists
Italian Dominicans
Dominican cardinals
19th-century Italian male writers