Antonio Bacci (4 September 1885 – 20 January 1971) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Co ...
cardinalate
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are ap ...
by
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...
. He is perhaps best known for his role in the
Ottaviani Intervention
''Short Critical Study of the Novus Ordo'' ''Missae'' (Italian: ''Breve Esame Critico del Novus Ordo Missae''), nicknamed Ottaviani Intervention, is a 1969 document written by some Roman Catholic theologians addressed to Pope Paul VI to criticise ...
.
Biography
Bacci was born in
Giugnola
Giugnola is a village in central Italy, administratively divided into two ''frazioni'' of the two municipalities of Castel del Rio (in Emilia-Romagna) and Firenzuola (in Tuscany). , it had 67 inhabitants, 33 in the Castel del Rio's ''frazione'', ...
, near
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, and
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
to the priesthood on 9 August 1909. From 1910 to 1922, he served as professor and
spiritual director
Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...
of the
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
in Florence. Bacci then entered the
Vatican Secretariat of State
The Secretariat of State (Latin: ''Secretaria Status''; Italian: ''Segreteria di Stato'') is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State ...
in 1922 as an expert in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
. He was raised to the rank of
honorary chamberlain of his holiness
A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.Secretary of Briefs to Princes in 1931. During his 31-year-long tenure as secretary, he prepared the Latin text of important
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
documents during the reigns of
Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...
,
Pius XII
Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia.
It may refer to:
People Popes
* Pope Pius (disambiguation)
* Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect
Given name
* Pius ...
, and
John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June ...
. Prior to the
1958 papal conclave
The 1958 papal conclave occurred following the death of Pope Pius XII on 9 October 1958. The College of Cardinals met from 25 to 28 October and on the eleventh ballot elected Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Patriarch of Venice as the new pope. ...
, he called for "a saintly Pope" who could "be a bridge between heaven and the earth ... between the social classes ... nda bridge among nations, even those who reject and persecute Christian religion."
John XXIII created him
Cardinal-Deacon
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
* Consistor ...
of 28 March 1960. Cardinal Bacci was later named
titular archbishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of ''Colonia in Cappadocia'' on 5 April 1962, and received his
episcopal consecration
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on the following 19 April from John XXIII, with Cardinals
Giuseppe Pizzardo
Giuseppe Pizzardo (13 July 1877 – 1 August 1970) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities from 1939 to 1968, and secretary of the Holy Office from 1951 to 1959 ...
and
Benedetto Aloisi Masella
Benedetto Aloisi Masella (29 June 1879 – 30 September 1970) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Discipline of the Sacraments from 1954 to 1968, and as chamberlain of the Roman Church (or camer ...
serving as
co-consecrators
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...
. He attended the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
1963 papal conclave
The 1963 papal conclave was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on 3 June 1963 in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on 19 June and ended two days later, ...
that elected
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
.
One of the Vatican's leading Latin experts, Bacci strongly opposed the introduction of the
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
into the
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...
. In what was known as the
Ottaviani Intervention
''Short Critical Study of the Novus Ordo'' ''Missae'' (Italian: ''Breve Esame Critico del Novus Ordo Missae''), nicknamed Ottaviani Intervention, is a 1969 document written by some Roman Catholic theologians addressed to Pope Paul VI to criticise ...
, the 84-year-old Bacci, together with 79-year-old
Alfredo Ottaviani
Alfredo Ottaviani (29 October 1890 – 3 August 1979) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII named him cardinal in 1953. He served as secretary of the Holy Office in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1966 when that dicaste ...
, sent to Pope Paul VI, with a short covering letter from themselves, a study by a group of
theologians
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
Order of Mass
Order of Mass is an outline of a Mass celebration, describing how and in what order liturgical texts and rituals are employed to constitute a Mass.
The expression Order of Mass is particularly tied to the Roman Rite where the sections under tha ...
of the revision of the Roman Missal."Archbishop Lefebvre gathered together a group of 12 theologians who wrote under his direction, A Short Critical Study of the Novus Ordo Missae often called the Ottaviani Intervention. A Short History of the SSPX In their letter the two cardinals said that the study showed that the new Order of Mass "represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session 22 of the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
... to which, nonetheless, the Catholic conscience is bound forever. With the promulgation of the Novus Ordo, the loyal Catholic is thus faced with a most tragic alternative."
Among Bacci's publications was ''Lexicon Eorum Vocabulorum Quae Difficilius Latine Redduntur'', a dictionary of modern terms in Latin; he invented such words as ''gummis salivaria'' ("chewing gum"), ''barbara saltatio'' ("the twist"), and ''diurnarius scriptor'' ("newspaper reporter"). This was a standard reference for writers of
Modern Latin
New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy a ...
, especially at the Vatican, until it was superseded by the ''
Lexicon Recentis Latinitatis
The ''Lexicon Recentis Latinitatis'' is a New Latin dictionary published by the Vatican-based Latinitas Foundation.
The book is an attempt to update the Latin language with a definition of neologisms
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") a ...
''.
Bacci died at
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
, at age 85. He is buried in his native Giugnola, near Florence.