- Pietro Fumasoni Biondi
infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Pietro Cardinal Fumasoni Biondi
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
relstyle=Cardinal
See=nonePietro Cardinal Fumasoni Biondi (
September 4 ,1872 —July 12 ,1960 ) was an Italianprelate of theRoman Catholic Church . He served asPrefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in theRoman Curia from 1933 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1933.Biography
Pietro Fumasoni Biondi was born in
Rome to the aristocratic Filippo and Gertrude (née Roselli) Fumasoni Biondi; he had a sister who entered the Sisters of the Sacred Heart and became known as Mother Gertrude [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745362-2,00.html Red Hats]March 20 ,1933 ] . After studying at thePontifical Roman Seminary , he was ordained to the priesthood by Lucido Cardinal Parocchi onApril 17 ,1897 . From 1897 to 1916, he was aprofessor at thePontifical Urbaniana University and then an official of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.On
November 14 ,1916 , Biondi was appointed Apostolic Delegate to the East Indies and Titular Archbishop of "Doclea". He received his episcopal consecration on the followingDecember 10 fromDomenico Cardinal Serafini , OSB, with BishopsJoseph Legrand , CSC, andAgostino Zampini , OSA, serving as co-consecrators, in thechapel of the Urbaniana University. In this post, he actively tried to improve relations between the Vatican and theEmperor of Japan [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846449,00.html Apostolic Delegate]March 10 ,1923 ] . Biondi was later named Apostolic Delegate toJapan onDecember 6 ,1919 ,Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith onJune 14 ,1921 , and Apostolic Delegate to the United States onDecember 14 ,1922 . In 1927, he declared the Vatican had no interest in Catholicgovernor of New York Al Smith 's presidential campaign [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745362-2,00.html Red Hats]March 20 ,1933 ] .Pope Pius XI created him Cardinal Priest of "S. Croce in Gerusalemme" in theconsistory ofMarch 13 ,1933 , in advance for his appointment asPrefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith three days later, onMarch 16 . The Cardinal served aspapal legate to the National Eucharistic Congress inTeramo onAugust 20 ,1935 . He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1939 papal conclave, and again in the conclave of 1958.Biondi died in
Rome , at age 87. He is buried in theCampo di Verano cemetery .References
External links
* [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-f.htm#Fumasoni Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bfuma.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
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