Opilio Rossi (14 May 1910 – 9 February 2004) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

Early life and priesthood

He was born in New York, the son of Angelo Rossi and Davidina Ciappa. The family moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

when he was a young boy. He was educated at the Collegio Alberoni in

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

and later the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum "S. Apollinare" in Rome where he earned a doctorate in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

with a thesis on St. Basil. Bundesarchiv Bild 146II-855, Nuntius Orsenigo besucht Kriegsgefangenenlager

He was ordained on 11 March 1933 in Rome. He was incardinated in

diocese of Piacenza In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. He served as an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

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 ...

from 1937 until 1938. He was created Privy chamberlain supernumerary on 1 September 1938. He was attached to the

diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( ...

serving as the secretary of the nunciature in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

from 1938 until 1939 and in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1939 to 1940. He was promoted to the

Auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and a ...

of the nunciature in Germany from 1940 until 1945 and served in the same position in the Netherlands from 1945 to 1948. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he was a counselor of the nunciature in Germany from 1951 until 1953.

Episcopate

He was appointed

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 ''

Ancyra Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

'' and appointed nuncio to

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

on 21 November 1953 by Pope Pius XII. He was consecrated on 27 December 1953. He was transferred to the nunciature in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on 25 March 1959 and again to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 25 September 1961. 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 ...

from 1962 until the close of the council in 1965.

Cardinalate

He was created Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria Liberatrice a Monte Testaccio by

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 State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

in the consistory of 24 May 1976. He was appointed as President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity on 20 December 1976. He took part in the

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

s that elected

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in August 1978 and October 1978. He resigned the presidency of the Pontifical Council for the Laity on 8 April 1984 and was succeeded by Cardinal Eduardo Pironio. He was Cardinal protodeacon (that is the longest serving Cardinal-Deacon) from 2 February 1983 until 22 June 1987. He opted for the order of cardinal priests after being ten years as a cardinal deacon and received the title of '' San Lorenzo in Lucina'' on 22 June 1987. He lost the right to participate in a conclave when turned 80 years of age in 1990.

Death

He died in 2004, at the

Domus Internationalis Paulus VI The Domus Internationalis Paulus VI was established as a Foundation by Pope John Paul II on 6 January 1999. The purpose of the Domus is to accommodate clergy who are assigned to the diplomatic service of the Holy See, or who are officials of the R ...

in Rome. He is buried at the chapel of Madonna di Lourdes, parish church of Scopolo, diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio, where he used to pray as a child.

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/brossio.html * * https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/de/homilies/2004/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20040213_card-opilio-rossi.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Opilio 20th-century Italian cardinals Participants in the Second Vatican Council Apostolic Nuncios to Ecuador Apostolic Nuncios to Austria Apostolic Nuncios to Chile Protodeacons 1910 births 2004 deaths Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Pontifical Council for the Laity Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany