| Styles of Antonio Innocenti | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Religious style | Cardinal |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Aeclanum (titular see) |
Antonio Innocenti (23 August 1915 – 6 September 2008) was anItaliancardinal who was a leading figure in theRoman Curia and the Vatican diplomatic service for many years.
He was born atPoppi, Italy. Ordained in 1938 atFlorence, Innocenti was studied at theDiocesan Seminary of Fiesole, thePontifical Gregorian University where he received a doctorate in 1941, thePontifical Lateran University, where he received alicentiate indogmatic theology in 1950, and thePontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where he studied diplomacy.[1] He served as a priest in northern Italy for the decade following his ordination. His work helping Jews led to his arrest and almost being shot by a firing squad; he was released at the last minute. He was then called to Rome byPope Pius XII and settled on a career in the Curia. He served for most of the 1950s and 1960s in the Papal Nunciature inSwitzerland, where, as he saw it, the major problems were "an opulent society, religious assistance to immigrants and relations with Christian of other denominations".
On 15 December 1967,Pope Paul VI named himTitular Archbishop ofEclano and Apostolic Nuncio toParaguay. He was appointed Secretary of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments (now theCongregation for Divine Worship) until 1980, when he became Nuncio to Spain.
In 1985,Pope John Paul II made him acardinal, and on 9 January 1986 appointed himPrefect of theCongregation for the Clergy,[2] a post he held until his retirement in 1991. During Innocenti's time as Prefect, the Curia was extremely busy dealing with what was perceived as dangerous dissent from papal teaching, and Innocenti was heavily involved with many lay movements designed to restore orthodoxy among the Church's members.
By 1999 he had retired to Piazza della Citta Leonina.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Apostolic Nuncio to Spain 4 October 1980 – 9 January 1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy 1986–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Pontifical CommissionEcclesia Dei 1991–1995 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
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