Amleto Giovanni Cicognani | |
|---|---|
| Dean of the College of Cardinals | |
.jpg) Cicognani in 1968 | |
| Church | Catholic |
| Appointed | 24 March 1972 |
| Term ended | 17 December 1973 |
| Predecessor | Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant |
| Successor | Luigi Traglia |
| Other posts |
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| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 23 September 1905 by Gioacchino Cantagalli |
| Consecration | 23 April 1933 by Raffaele Carlo Rossi |
| Created cardinal | 15 December 1958 byPope John XXIII |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest (1958–62) Cardinal-Bishop (1962–73) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Amleto Giovanni Cicognani 24 February 1883 |
| Died | 17 December 1973(1973-12-17) (aged 90) |
| Buried | San Clemente |
| Parents | Guglielmo Cicognani Anna Ceroni |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Roman Athenaeum Saint Apollinare |
| Motto | Vigilat nec fatiscit |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Amleto Cicognani | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Frascati (suburbicarian), Ostia (suburbicarian) |
Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an ItalianCardinal of the Catholic Church. He served asVatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, andDean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. Cicognani was elevated to thecardinalate in 1958. His brother,Gaetano Cicognani, was also a cardinal. To date they are the last pair of brothers to serve together in theCollege of Cardinals.
Amleto Cicognani was born inBrisighella, nearFaenza, as the younger of the two children of Guglielmo and Anna (née Ceroni) Cicognani. Hiswidowed mother ran ageneral store to support him and his brother,Gaetano.[1] After studying at theseminary in Faenza, he wasordained apriest on 23 September 1905 byBishop Gioacchino Cantagalli. Cicognani continued his studies at thePontifical Roman AthenaeumS. Apollinare, and in 1910 he was appointed an official of theSacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments. First raised to the rank ofmonsignor in 1917, he taught at his alma mater of the AthenaeumS. Apollinare from 1921 to 1932, and then entered theRoman Curia, as substitute adjunct of theConsistorial, on 16 December 1922.
After holding a variety ofpastoral andcurial positions, Cicognani was appointedApostolic Delegate to theUnited States andTitular Archbishop ofLaodicea in Phrygia on 17 March 1933. He received hisepiscopal consecration on the following 23 April from CardinalRaffaele Rossi, with ArchbishopsGiuseppe Pizzardo andCarlo Salotti serving asco-consecrators, in theRoman church ofSanta Susanna. Cicognani would remain Apostolic Delegate to the United States, serving as liaison between theAmerican hierarchy and theVatican, for the next 25 years.
During World War II, Cicognani expressed reservations aboutZionism. In a letter dated 22 June 1943 to American representativeMyron C. Taylor, he said: "It is true that at one time Palestine was inhabited by the Hebrew Race, but there is no axiom in history to substantiate the necessity of a people returning to a country they left nineteen centuries before ... If a 'Hebrew Home' is desired, it would not be too difficult to find a more fitting territory than Palestine. With an increase in the Jewish population there, grave, new international problems would arise."[2]
He was createdCardinal-Priest ofS. Clemente byPope John XXIII in theconsistory of 15 December 1958. Cardinal Cicognani was later raised toCardinal-Bishop of Frascati on 23 May 1962. Because his brother, Gaetano, was already a living cardinal, having been elevated in 1953, an exception had to be made to theChurch law that prohibited brothers from holding the title of cardinal simultaneously.[3]
On 14 November 1959, Cicognani became Secretary of theCongregation for the Oriental Churches. He was later named to the posts ofCardinal Secretary of State,President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, and President of theAdministration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See on 12 August 1961.[2][4] With the appointments of 1962, Cicognani essentially became theforeign minister, prime minister, andinterior minister of the Vatican.
He attended theSecond Vatican Council (1962–1965), at which he served as Chairman of the Secretariat for Extraordinary Questions.[5] Cicognani was also one of thecardinal electors who participated in the1963 papal conclave, which selectedPope Paul VI.
On 30 April 1969, Cicognani resigned all of his posts. However, on 24 March 1972, he was elected and confirmed asDean of the College of Cardinals and thus received the title of thesuburbicarian see ofOstia, in addition to his title of Cardinal Bishop of Frascati.
Cicognani died in Rome, following a brief illness, at age 90.[6] He is buried in theBasilica di San Clemente.
He was considered to be rather conservative in his views. He sought to stemecumenism in theCatholic Church in America,[7] and was once described as not being open toAggiornamento.[8]
However Canon 232 §3 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law then in force prohibited anyone having a brother who was a cardinal from being himself a cardinal.
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| Preceded by | Apostolic Delegate to the United States 17 March 1933 – 14 November 1959 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Cardinal Secretary of State 12 August 1961 – 30 April 1969 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Dean of the College of Cardinals 24 March 1972 – 17 December 1973 | Succeeded by |
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