Piero Biggio (29 June 1937 – 18 April 2007) was an Italian prelate of theCatholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of theHoly See.
Piero Biggio was born on 29 June 1937[1] inCalasetta,Province of Carbonia-Iglesias, Sardinia, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 5 August 1962.
In 1968, he obtained aLicentiate of Canon Law at thePontifical Lateran University and then completed the two-year program at thePontifical Ecclesiastical Academy from 1968 to 1970.
In 1970 he entered the diplomatic service of theHoly See. His first assignment was in theApostolic Nunciature inPanama. Other postings followed inChile,Zambia,Australia,Switzerland andTaiwan.
On 10 December 1988,Pope John Paul II appointed himtitular archbishop ofOtriculum and Apostolic Nuncio toBangladesh. He received his episcopal consecration from the Secretary of State CardinalAgostino Casaroli on 25 February 1989.[2] Biggio was apostolic nuncio inChile from 1992 to 1999. In that role he advised against prosecuting former Chilean dictatorAugusto Pinochet for crimes against humanity, suggesting he be given diplomatic immunity, pardoned and prayed for.[3] He called Pinochet's arrest by British authorities on a Spanish warrant a "violation of diplomatic immunity".[4]
He was nuncio inDenmark,Iceland,Finland,Norway andSweden from his appointment on 27 February 1999[5] until John Paul accepted his resignation on 16 October 2004.[6]
His last years were spent working in Rome in the offices of the Secretariat of State. He died after a long illness on 18 April 2007.[1]
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