Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte (10 April 1851 – 16 February 1948)Profile of Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte
/ref> was an Italian

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a prominent member of the Roman Curia.

Biography

Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on 7 June 1879 in Naples. He worked in the archdiocese in various roles, amongst which as secretary to

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

Guglielmo Sanfelice D'Acquavella. He was appointed a domestic prelate to the Pope on 4 April 1884 and joined the Roman Curia in 1892, where he was attached to the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, concerned with foreign affairs of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. As

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 ...

and

counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

, he held posts in the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

nunciature from 1893 to 1896. In 1899 Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte 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 ...

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroe ...

, consecrated by

Mariano Rampolla Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro (17 August 1843 – 16 December 1913) was an Italian Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, and the last man to have his candidacy for papal election vetoed through ''jus exclusivae'' by a Catholic monarch. Early li ...

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

, in Rome. Concurrently, he became

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

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 ...

, later to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(1904–1911). In 1909 the nuncio stood as godparent, representing

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

, to Don Carlos de Austria y de Borbón, son of Archduke Don Leopold Salvator of Habsburg-Lorraine and Infanta Doña Blanca de Borbón y de Borbón. Pius X created him

Cardinal-Priest 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 ...

in the Consistory of 27 November 1911, giving him the ''title'' of Santa Maria degli Angeli. He was appointed a papal legate to the Eucharistic Congress of Lourdes on 12 July 1914. On 6 December 1915 he was promoted to Cardinal Bishop of Albano. From 4 December 1916 to 16 March 1919 he held the post of Camerlengo of the

College of Cardinals 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 app ...

. He was appointed a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

to the Eucharistic Congress of Palermo on 6 August 1924. On 15 February 1930 he was appointed vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, becoming Dean on 9 July 1930, when he was appointed

Cardinal Bishop of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since ...

in 1930. On 14 July that year the new Dean was also appointed Prefect of the

Congregation of Ceremonies The Sacred Congregation of Ceremonies was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was charged with the direction of all papal ceremonies as well as of the ceremonial of cardinals. History and functions The congregation was established by Pope Sixtu ...

Pope 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 ...

. He held both of these last posts until his death on 16 February 1948 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. At 96 years of age, he was the oldest living cardinal and the last surviving cardinal of Pope Pius X. He participated in the

conclaves 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 ...

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

. The Cardinal was appointed Grand Prior of Rome of the Sovereign Military

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

from December 1937. In 1911 he was granted the Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary The Order of Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István rend) was an order of chivalry founded in 1764 by Maria Theresa. In 1938, Miklós Horthy took the rights and activities of Grand Master as Regent of Hungary. The name of the Order changed to the Roy ...

by Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until ...

. On his death, the Cardinal was interred at

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to t ...

, in Rome.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belmonte (Granito Pignatelli Di), Gennaro 1851 births 1948 deaths 19th-century Neapolitan people Deans of the College of Cardinals 20th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Albano Cardinal-bishops of Ostia 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to Austria Apostolic Nuncios to Belgium Gennaro Cardinals created by Pope Pius X Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Bishops of Edessa