- Valerio Valeri
infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Valerio Cardinal Valeri
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
See=none |Valerio Cardinal Valeri (
November 7 ,1883 —July 22 ,1963 ) was an Italianprelate of theRoman Catholic Church . He served asPrefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious in theRoman Curia from 1953 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 byPope Pius XII .Biography
Valerio Valeri was born in
Santa Fiora , and studied at theRoman-Pio Seminary and the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum "S. Apollinare", where he was made aprofessor in 1904. Ordained to the priesthood onDecember 21 ,1907 , he then taught at the Pontifical RegionalSeminary inFano until 1909. After serving as a militarychaplain duringWorld War I , Valeri entered theRoman Curia , as a staff member of the Secretariat of State, in 1920. From 1921 to 1927, he wasaudit or to the Frenchnunciature . He was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness onJuly 6 , 1921, and later Domestic Prelate of His Holiness onJuly 22 ,1923 .On
October 18 , 1927, Valeri was appointed Titular Archbishop of "Ephesus" and Apostolic Delegate toEgypt and Arabia. He received his episcopal consecration on the followingOctober 28 fromDonato Cardinal Sbarretti , with Archbishop Pietro Benedetti, MSC, and Bishop Giuseppe Angelucci serving as co-consecrators. Valeri was later namedNuncio toRomania onJuly 1 ,1933 , and toFrance onJuly 11 ,1936 . In August 1942, the nuncio disputed Marshal Pétain's claim thatPope Pius XII understood and approved of France's increased hostility towards theJews [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932812,00.html Sacrificium Abramae]August 17 ,1942 ] [EWTN. [http://www.ewtn.com/library/issues/pius12gs.htm The Good Samaritan: Jewish Praise for Pope Pius XII] ] . He was awarded theGrand Cross of the "Légion d'honneur " upon leaving France in 1944 to again work in the Secretariat of State, specifically theCongregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs . After becomingPresident of the Central Committee for the Holy Year onJune 28 ,1948 , Valeri was madeassessor of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Churches onSeptember 1 of that same year.He was created Cardinal Priest of "S. Silvestro in Capite" by Pius XII in the
consistory ofJanuary 12 ,1953 . Pope Pius advanced him toPrefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious five days later, onJanuary 17 . Valeri was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1958 papal conclave that selectedPope John XXIII , who had earlier succeeded him as the French nuncio. The Cardinal lived long enough to only attend the first session of theSecond Vatican Council in 1962, and to participate in the conclave of 1963, which resulted in the election ofPope Paul VI .Valeri died in Rome, at age 79. He is buried in his family's
tomb in Santa Fiora.Trivia
* President de Gaulle had insisted that Valeri, then Nuncio to France, be removed from his post for collaborating with the Vichy regime [International Herald Tribune. [http://www.iht.com/articles/1997/09/22/vat.t.php Church to Voice Sorrow for "Silence" During War Deportations: Catholic Apology to Jews of France]
September 22 ,1997 ] [CatholicIreland.net. [http://www.catholicireland.net/pages/index.php?nd=68&art=122 The Unlikely Election of John XXIII] ] .References
External links
* [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-v.htm#Valeri Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bvaleri.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
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