Bonaventura Cerretti | |
|---|---|
| Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura | |
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| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Appointed | 12 October 1931 |
| Term ended | 8 May 1933 |
| Predecessor | Francesco Ragonesi |
| Successor | Enrico Gasparri |
| Other posts |
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| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 31 March 1895 by Tancredo Fausti |
| Consecration | 19 July 1914 by Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta |
| Created cardinal | 14 December 1925 byPope Pius XI |
| Rank |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Bonaventura Cerretti 17 June 1872 Comune de Bardono,Orvieto,Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 8 May 1933(1933-05-08) (aged 60) Rome, Kingdom of Italy |
| Buried | Santa Maria in Trastevere |
| Parents | Faustino Cerretti Maria Custodi |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Gregorian University |
| Motto | Robur in fide |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Bonaventura Cerretti | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Velletri (suburbicarian see) |
Bonaventura Cerretti (17 June 1872 – 8 May 1933) was an Italiancardinal of theRoman Catholic Church. He served asPrefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura from 1931 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1925.
Bonaventura Cerretti was born inOrvieto and educated at the seminary inSpoleto and, later, at thePontifical Gregorian University in Rome as well as theRoyal University, Rome.[1] He was ordained in 1895, and taught Latin and Italian classics at the Vatican Seminary.[2] He was then invited to become a staff member in theVatican Secretariat of State where he worked from 1899 until 1904. He was createdPrivy chamberlain of His Holiness on 13 January 1904. He then served as secretary to theapostolic delegate in Mexico from 1904 to 1906 then asauditor in the apostolic delegation to the United States from 1906 to 1914. Cerretti contributed the article "Legate" to theCatholic Encyclopedia.[2]
He was appointed asTitular Archbishop of Philippopolis in Thracia on 15 April 1914 byPope Pius X. He was transferred to thetitular see ofCorinth on 10 May 1914.[2] He was consecrated as a bishop on 19 July 1914 by CardinalRafael Merry del Val,Cardinal Secretary of State. He was appointed as the first apostolic delegate toAustralia—the delegation then responsible for Australia andNew Zealand—on 10 May 1914,[3] and was well liked and respected by Australians of all faiths.[4]On 6 May 1917, he was assigned to theCongregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs in Rome.[5]
He represented theHoly See at theParis Peace Conference from May to June 1919; he tried without success to get the Great Powers to accept a set of principles for peace proposed byPope Benedict XV. He was appointed to serve asApostolic Nuncio to France in 1921.
In 1925 he was madeCardinal-Priest ofSanta Cecilia in Trastevere byPope Pius XI in the consistory of 14 December 1925. In 1928 he revisited Australia as papal legate to the 29th InternationalEucharistic Congress in Sydney; as part of this visit, he laid the foundation stone for theHoly Name Cathedral, Brisbane (which was never completed).[6]
In 1926 he negotiated withAristide Briand an agreement giving the French interior and foreign ministers a role in the appointment of French diocesan bishops (i.e. outsideAlsace-Moselle where special arrangements apply).
He was appointed asarchpriest of theBasilica of Saint Mary Major on 16 July 1930. Pope Pius appointed him as Prefect of theApostolic Signatura on 12 October 1931. He opted for the order of cardinal bishops, taking thesuburbicarian see ofVelletri in 1933. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, 1933; he died shortly after.
In 1930 in Rome he was painted by his friend the Swiss-born American artistAdolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947). The picture is believed to hang in the Palazzo Municipale di Orvieto.[7]
Cerretti died in Rome and was buried in the basilica ofSanta Maria in Trastevere. The chapel atSt Patrick's Seminary, Manly in Sydney, Australia is named after him.
MonsignorCaesar Cerretti (died February 1936), Canon ofSt. Peter's, Rome, was a brother.[8]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore 16 July 1930 – 8 May 1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura 12 October 1931 – 8 May 1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Bishop of Velletri 13 March 1933 – 8 May 1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals 1933 | Succeeded by |
