 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Mario Luigi Ciappi" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Styles of Mario Ciappi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | none |
Mario Luigi Ciappi,O.P. (6 October 1909 – 23 April 1996) was an ItalianCardinal of theRoman Catholic Church who served as personaltheologian to fivepopes from 1955 to 1989, and was elevated to thecardinalate in 1977.
Born inFlorence, Mario Ciappi studied at theseminary inLucca. He later entered theOrder of Friars Preachers, more commonly known as the Dominicans, andprofessed in theconvent ofSanta Maria della Quercia inViterbo.
After studying at the convent ofSan Domenico inPistoia, he attended thePontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas,Angelicum inRome, where he obtained hisdoctorate in theology in 1933 with athesis entitledDe divina misericordia ut prima causa operum Dei. Ciappi wasordained apriest by CardinalFrancesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani on 26 March 1932. He continued his studies at theUniversity of Louvain andUniversity of Fribourg until 1935.
As a professor, Ciappi taughtmoral anddogmatic theology at hisalma mater, theAngelicum. From 1935 to 1955 he served asDean of theTheologicalFaculty. He also lectured onThomisticaesthetics at theInstitute Beato Angelico.
On 5 May 1955 he was namedMaster of the Sacred Palace. In this capacity, Ciappi served as the personaltheologian to thePope. The title was later renamed as Theologian of thePontifical Household on 28 March 1968 byPope Paul VI'smotu proprioPontificalis Domus. He advised Pope Paul while the latter wroteHumanae Vitae,[1] and later defended the sameencyclical against charges that it was in conflict with Thomistic principles.[2]
On 10 June 1977, in advance of hiscardinalitial promotion, Ciappi was appointedTitular Bishop ofMisenum. He received hisepiscopal consecration on the following 18 June from CardinalDino Staffa, with ArchbishopJean Jérôme Hamer, OP, and BishopAngelo Verardo, OP, serving asco-consecrators, in thebasilica ofSanta Maria sopra Minerva. Paul VI, shortly afterwards, created CiappiCardinal Deacon ofNostra Signora del Sacro Cuore in theconsistory of 27 June 1977.
From 1977 to 1989, the Dominican continued his role under the title ofPro-theologian of the Pontifical Household. Ciappi was one of thecardinal electors who participated in theconclaves ofAugust andOctober 1978, which selectedPopes John Paul I andJohn Paul II respectively. After ten years' standing as a Cardinal Deacon, he opted to become aCardinal Priest, with thetitular church ofSacro Cuore di Gesù agonizzante a Vitinia, on 22 June 1987.
Ciappi died in Rome, at age 86, and was there buried at theCampo Verano cemetery. During his thirty-four-year-long tenure aspapal theologian, he served PopesPius XII,John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Theologian of the Pontifical Household 5 May 1955 – 6 October 1989 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
