| Styles of Sebastiano Cardinal Baggio | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Velletri-Segni |
Sebastiano Baggio (16 May 1913 – 21 March 1993)[1] was an Italiancardinal, often thought to be a likely candidate for election to the papacy. He served asPresident of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate ofVatican City State from 1984 to 1990 and wasPrefect of the SacredCongregation for Bishops from 1973 to 1984.
Born inRosà,Veneto, Sebastiano was ordained a priest on 21 December 1935, at the age of 22, inVicenza. He took postgraduate studies and joined theHoly See's diplomatic service with the first posting as attaché to theApostolic nunciature in Austria in 1938.
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 raised him to the rank of cardinal on 30 April 1969 assigning him as a cardinal deacon the title ofSanti Angeli Custodi a Città Giardino. Pope Paul appointed himArchbishop of Cagliari in Sardinia on 23 June 1969.
He was appointed prefect of the Congregation for Bishops on 26 February 1973.[2]
One of the most influential posts he held in Rome – between 1973 and 1984 – was Prefect of theCongregation of Bishops, 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.".[3] He was credited as a talent spotter in furthering the episcopal career of CardinalAlfonso López Trujillo who shared many of Baggio's concern at the direction of the Church in South America.[4]
The same obituary, written by the respected Catholic journalistPeter Hebblethwaite, drew attention to Baggio's relationship withOpus Dei and his battles with FrPedro Arrupe, theJesuit Superior General, over the future of Central American policy: "Baggio – and Pope John Paul – wanted a 'unitary policy' for Central America which theJesuits and otherreligious orders 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."[5]
He participated in the two conclaves of 1978 and when he died in 1993 atRome at age 79 was bothCamerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, and a sub-dean of theCollege of Cardinals. 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."
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church 25 March 1985 – 21 March 1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals 15 April 1986 – 21 March 1993 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
