Ambrogio Marchioni (31 August 1911 – 2 May 1995) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He was made an archbishop in 1961 and served as Apostolic Nuncio to several countries from 1959 to 1984, including Switzerland for seventeen years.

Biography

Ambrogio Marchioni was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, on 31 August 1911. He was ordained a priest of the

Diocese of Naples The Diocese of Naples was a Roman Catholic diocese in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese was raised to the level of a Metropolitan Archdiocese in the 10th century, ...

on 26 May 1934. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (, ) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Despite its name, the P ...

in 1934. When he joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See, one of his early assignments was in the Nunciature to Italy at least as early as the end of 1940. He was secretary there on 15 October 1943 when Defence Minister

Rodolfo Graziani Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli ( , ; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was an Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's Royal Italian Army, Royal Army, primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and during World Wa ...

asked him to support or express sympathy for the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

, the puppet state the Nazis had established. Marchioni responded by reiterating the neutrality of the Church and the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and the need rather to "instill calm, tranquility, order, so as to ensure that ill-advised actions do not produce serious reprisals against so many innocent people or the entire population". On 1 July 1959,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

and to the

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. He was named titular archbishop of Severiana on 14 October 1961 and received his episcopal consecration on 12 November 1961 from Cardinal

Carlo Confalonieri Carlo Confalonieri (25 July 1893 – 1 August 1986) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 1967 to 1973, and dean of the College of Cardinals from 1977 until his death. Co ...

. His appointments in those countries ended with the appointment of his successor,

Bruno Torpigliani Bruno Torpigliani (15 April 1915 – 2 May 1995) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He was made an archbishop in 1964 and served as Apostolic Nuncio to several countries, including th ...

on 1 September 1964. On 30 June 1967, Pope Paul named him Apostolic Nuncio to Switzerland. He retired in September 1984. He died in Rome on 27 February 1989.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Ambrogio Marchioni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchioni, Ambrogio 1911 births 1989 deaths Clergy from Naples Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic nuncios to El Salvador Apostolic nuncios to Guatemala Apostolic nuncios to Switzerland Diplomats from Naples