- Fernando Cento
infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Fernando Cardinal Cento| dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
See=Velletri-Segni (suburbicarian see )|"His Most Reverend Eminence" Fernando Cardinal Cento (10 August 1883 -13 January 1973 ) was a Cardinal of theRoman Catholic Church and was former Major Penitentiary of Apostolic Penitentiary.Fernando Cento was born in
Pollenza ,Italy . His parents were Evaristo Cento and his second wife, Ermelinda Andreani. He had a half-sister, Rosa, and a brother, Vincenzo.Education
He was educated at the
Seminary ofMacerata from 1893-1905 where he was taughphilosophy andtheology and later at thePontifical Gregorian University where he was taughtcanon law . He continued his studies atLa Sapienza University ,Rome where he obtained adoctorate in letters. He received thediaconate onDecember 17 1905 in the basilica of the Madonna della Misericordia.Priesthood
He was ordained on Saturday
23 December 1905 inMacerata ; he had to obtain a dispensation for not having yet reached the canonical age of 23 years required to be ordained a priest. He served asprofessor ofliterature at the Seminary of Macerata; and of philosophy at the State Institute of Macerata from 1906-1916. He demonstrated excellent qualities as a preacher in several Italian dioceses. He was called to the military service when Italy entered theFirst World War in 1915 and was attached to the Service of Health at the military hospital ofAncona from 1915-1917. He was created Privy chamberlain of His Holiness on15 November 1917 .Episcopate
He was appointed
Bishop of Acireale byPope Pius XI on22 July 1922 . He was consecrated on3 September 1922 , byGiovanni Cardinal Tacci Porcelli , Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Church, assisted by Domenico Pasi,bishop of Macerata-Tolentino , and by Placido Ferniani,bishop of Ruvo e Bitonto . He was promoted totitular archbishop of Seleucia Pieria on24 June 1926 and was appointednuncio inVenezuela four days later. He remained in Venezuela until he was transferred toPeru on26 July 1936 . As well as his duties in Peru he was charged with the affairs of the church inEcuador , which did not have diplomatic relations with theHoly See for nearly forty years. He was named nuncio in Ecuador onJuly 25 1937 , after having successfully negotiated themodus vivendi with the Ecuadorian government, which established the diplomatic relations between both states. He was the Extraordinary ambassador to the inauguration of PresidentManuel Prado y Ugarteche of Perú, on8 December 1939 . and extraordinary ambassador to the inauguration ofJuan Antonio Ríos Morales ofChile onApril 2 1942 . Extraordinary ambassador to the inauguration of PresidentJosé Luis Bustamante y Rivero of Perú onJuly 28 ,1945 . He remained in Latin America until he was appointed as nuncio toBelgium andLuxemburg on9 March 1946 . He served as Extraordinary papal envoy to thecoronation of QueenElizabeth II of the United Kingdom on2 June 1953 and was Nuncio in Portugal, from 1953.Cardinalate
He was created Cardinal-Priest of "
Sant'Eustachio " (deaconry elevatedpro hac vice to title) byPope John XXIII in theconsistory ofDecember 15 1958 . He was appointed as Major Penitentiary of Apostolic Penitentiary on12 February 1962 . He attended theSecond Vatican Council that was called by Pope John. He participated in the conclave of 1963 that electedPope Paul VI . He was elected to the order of Cardinal bishop taking the title of thesuburbicarian see ofVelletri on23 April 1965 . He resigned his post of Major Penitentiary in 1967. He lost the right to participate any future conclaves by being older than eighty years in1 January 1971 .Death
He died in 1973, at 4 a.m., Rome. On that same day, Pope Paul visited the chapel where the body of the cardinal was exposed. The funeral mass, celebrated by Luigi Punzolo, titular archbishop of Sebastea, apostolic administrator of Velletri, took place in the patriarchal Vatican basilica on
January 16 at 10:30 a.m.Luigi Cardinal Traglia represented the pope in the final commendation. A large number of cardinals, archbishops and bishops of theRoman Curia , as well as from Macerata, Pollenza and Acireale, attended the funeral. A funeral mass in the cathedral of Macerata was presided by Bishop Ersilio Tonini, bishop of Macerata, and concelebrated by 100 priests and numerous bishops. The funeral in Pollenza was a demonstration of the esteem of its population for the late cardinal. His mortal remains were buried in the parish church of S. Antonio, Pollenza, where he had celebrated his first mass.
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