Silvio Angelo Pio Oddi (14 November 1910 – 29 June 2001) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service 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 ...

and in the Roman Curia. He became a

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 ...

in 1969 and headed the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

from 1979 to 1986.

Biography

Silvio Oddi was born in

Morfasso Morfasso ( Piacentino: ; locally ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Piacenza. As of 31 December 2011, it had a population of 1,090 ...

, near Piacenza, Italy, on 14 November 1910. He studied at the

Collegio Alberoni The Collegio Alberoni is a Roman Catholic seminary located on Via Emilia Parmense #77 in Piacenza, Italy. The complex also includes a prominent art gallery, Galleria Alberoni. Affiliated with the seminary are an seismic and astronomical observato ...

there from 1926 to 1933 (philosophy, theology and moral). He was ordained a priest on 21 May 1933 in Rome, and continued his studies at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

, ''Angelicum''. He entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic ...

in 1934 and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1936. He was assigned to the

Apostolic Delegation 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 or ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

until 1939. From that year until 1945 he held a similar post in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, then in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

(1945–1948), and France (1948–1951). He became the senior official, chargé d'affaires, of the Apostolic Nunciature to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

in 1951. When the Vatican stonewalled the government's attempt to negotiate an agreement and instead

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 ...

made the regime's most prominent critic, Archbishop

Aloysius Stepinac Aloysius Viktor Cardinal Stepinac ( hr, Alojzije Viktor Stepinac, 8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960) was a senior-ranking Yugoslav Croat prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal, Stepinac served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his dea ...

, a cardinal, the government expelled Oddi on 17 December 1952. On 30 July 1953,

named him Titular Bishop of Mesembria and Apostolic Delegate for Palestine, Transjordan and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. On 27 September of the same year, he received his episcopal ordination from Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the future

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 was named Apostolic Internuncio to Egypt on 11 January 1957. He was named Nuncio to

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 ...

and to

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

on 17 May 1962. He took part in 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 ...

(1962–1965).

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 ...

created him a cardinal on 28 April 1969, assigning to him the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

Sant'Agata dei Goti Sant'Agata dei Goti is a church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the martyr Agatha of Sicily. It is the ''diaconia'' assigned to Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. (It became ''pro hac vice'' title in 2021 ...

. He named him Papal Legate for the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Francis in

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and '' comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born arou ...

and gave him responsibility for the shrine of Loreto as well.

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 ...

named him Prefect of the

on 28 September 1979. He retired at the age of 75 upon the appointment of his successor

Antonio Innocenti Antonio Innocenti (23 August 1915 – 6 September 2008) was an Italian cardinal who was a leading figure in the Roman Curia and the Vatican diplomatic service for many years. Biography He was born at Poppi, Italy. Ordained in 1938 at Florenc ...

on 9 January 1986. In 1989 he attended, as Papal Legate, the funeral of Japanese Emperor

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

. * Spiritual Protector of the Military and Hospitaller

Order of Saint Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by crusaders around 1119 at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care beca ...

of Jerusalem (Malta Obedience) * Cardinal Patron of the

Militia Templi The Militia Templi ( en, Militia of the Temple), also called the Order of the poor Knights of Christ ( la, Christi Pauperum Militum Ordo), is a lay order of the Roman Catholic Church. Overview The Militia Templi is a Roman Catholic private ...

, a groups of Catholic knights based in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. He died on 29 June 2001 in

Cortemaggiore Cortemaggiore ( Piacentino: ) is an Italian ''comune'' located in the Province of Piacenza. Cortemaggiore is located in the northern Italy about from Milan and from Bologna, in the Pianura Padana. The municipality borders with Fiorenzuola d'Ar ...

and was buried in the parish church of Morfasso.

References

;Additional sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oddi, Silvio 1910 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Italian cardinals Apostolic Nuncios to Belgium Apostolic Nuncios to Luxembourg Apostolic Nuncios to Egypt Participants in the Second Vatican Council Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Prefects of the Congregation for the Clergy Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI