Luigi Lavitrano (7 March 1874 – 2 August 1950) 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, t ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

who served as

Archbishop of Palermo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo ( la, Archidioecesis Panormitana) was founded as the Diocese of Palermo in the first century and raised to the status of archdiocese in the 11th century.prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the Sacred Congregation for Religious from 1945 until his death. Lavitrano was elevated to the

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 ...

in 1929.

Biography

Born in Forio, Lavitrano lost his entire family in an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

in 1883 that devastated the island of

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to ...

. He studied at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

, the

Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare is a former pontifical university in Rome, named after St. Apollinaris of Ravenna. Its facilities are now occupied by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Initially, the Palace of St. Apollinare wa ...

, the Royal University, and the Pontifical Leonine Institute 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 ...

. He was

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 21 March 1898, and then taught at the Leonine Institute until 1910, when he became its

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. He was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness on 8 March 1904. On 25 May 1914, Lavitrano was appointed Bishop of Cava e Sarno by

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 ...

. He 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 21 June from Basilio Cardinal Pompili, with Bishops Giovanni Regine and Giovanni Scotti 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 ...

. Lavitrano was later named

Archbishop of Benevento The Italian Catholic metropolitan Archdiocese of Benevento ( la, Archidioecesis Beneventana) has a long history; it now has five suffragan dioceses: the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia, the diocese of Avellino, the diocese of Cerreto Sanni ...

on 16 July 1924, and finally

archbishop of Palermo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo ( la, Archidioecesis Panormitana) was founded as the Diocese of Palermo in the first century and raised to the status of archdiocese in the 11th century.Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

from 1924 to 1925.

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 ...

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 ...

of ''

San Silvestro in Capite The Basilica of Saint Sylvester the First, also known as ( it, San Silvestro in Capite, la, Sancti Silvestri in Capite), is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome dedicated to Pope Sylvester I (d. AD 335). It is located on t ...

'' in the

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 16 December 1929. Lavitrano, who once scolded Italian Catholics for their religious negligence, was one of the

cardinal electors 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 ...

who participated in the

1939 papal conclave The 1939 papal conclave was held, following the death of Pope Pius XI on 10 February 1939. All 62 cardinals of the Catholic Church met on 1 March. The next day, on the third ballot, they elected Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who was Camerlengo and ...

that selected

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. After resigning as

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

's archbishop in December 1944, he was made

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the Sacred Congregation for Religious in the Roman Curia on 14 May 1945. Lavitrano's resignation was unexpected, and it is considered that he resigned because his alleged sympathy for the Fascists—he voted for the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

in the 1929 Italian general elections—became unpopular.Liberation: The Second World War in Sicily
''Best of Sicily''. Quote: "By a tradition dating from the medieval Norman rule of southern Italy, the Archbishop of Palermo is the Primate of Sicily. In modern times, this has entailed little more than a titular (and symbolic) precedence over other Sicilian bishops, but an important one. It was deemed inopportune for the Archbishop of Palermo (since 1928), Luigi Cardinal Lavitrano (1874-1950), who had been sympathetic to the Fascist regime, or at least perceived in that light, to continue in his position; General Patton's dislike of cardinal Lavitrano was well-known. Therefore, he 'resigned' to a post in the Roman Curia in December 1944. For a bishop to retire from active pastoral work at seventy years of age was unusual (the mandatory retirement age is now seventy-five), but in the case of this unforeseen wartime resignation - possibly the first of its kind in modern Italy - the Vatican did not have an immediate successor in mind. In fact, Ernesto Ruffini (1888-1967) was not appointed Archbishop of Palermo until October of the following year. Though conservative, Cardinal Ruffini was regarded as less reactionary and less monarchist than his predecessor." Lavitrano died in Marino, in the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, but the hi ...

, at age 76. He is buried in the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

of Santa Maria di Loreto in his native Forio.

References

External links

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavitrano, Luigi 1874 births 1950 deaths People from the Province of Naples 20th-century Italian cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Palermo Archbishops of Benevento Members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life Pontifical Urban University alumni 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops