Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as

Vatican Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State (Holy See), Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important ...

from 1961 to 1969, and

Dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals () presides over the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church, serving as ('first among equals'). The position was established in the 12th century. He always holds the rank of a cardinal bishop and is as ...

from 1972 until his death. Cicognani was elevated to the

cardinalate The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

in 1958. His brother, Gaetano Cicognani, was also a cardinal. To date they are the last pair of brothers to serve together in the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

Career in the Church

Amleto Cicognani was born in

Brisighella Brisighella () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Ravenna, region of Emilia-Romagna, in Northeast Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Brisighella borders the following municipal ...

, near

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

, as the younger of the two children of Guglielmo and Anna (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Ceroni) Cicognani. His

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

ed mother ran a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

to support him and his brother,

Gaetano Gaetano (anglicized ''Cajetan'') is an Italian masculine given name. It is also used as a surname. It is derived from the Latin ''Caietanus'', meaning "from ''Caieta''" (the modern Gaeta). The given name has been in use in Italy since medieval per ...

. After studying at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

in Faenza, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 23 September 1905 by Bishop Gioacchino Cantagalli. Cicognani continued his studies at the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum ''S. Apollinare'', and in 1910 he was appointed an official of the Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments. First raised to the rank of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

in 1917, he taught at his alma mater of the Athenaeum ''S. Apollinare'' from 1921 to 1932, and then entered the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

, as substitute adjunct of the Consistorial, on 16 December 1922. After holding a variety of

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

and curial positions, Cicognani was appointed

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio (; 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 organization. A nuncio is ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

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 ''Laodicea in Phrygia'' on 17 March 1933. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on the following 23 April from Cardinal Raffaele Rossi, with Archbishops

Giuseppe Pizzardo Giuseppe Pizzardo (13 July 1877 – 1 August 1970) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities from 1939 to 1968, and secretary of the Holy Office from 1951 to 195 ...

and

Carlo Salotti Carlo Salotti (25 July 1870 – 24 October 1947) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith from 1930 until 1935 and as prefect of the Congregation of Rites ...

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 Churche ...

, in the Roman church of

Santa Susanna The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian () is a Roman Catholic, Catholic parish church, parish and Cistercian conventual church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site as ...

. Cicognani would remain Apostolic Delegate to the United States, serving as liaison between the American hierarchy and the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, for the next 25 years. During World War II, Cicognani expressed reservations about

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. In a letter dated 22 June 1943 to American representative Myron C. Taylor, he said: "It is true that at one time Palestine was inhabited by the Hebrew Race, but there is no axiom in history to substantiate the necessity of a people returning to a country they left nineteen centuries before ... If a 'Hebrew Home' is desired, it would not be too difficult to find a more fitting territory than Palestine. With an increase in the Jewish population there, grave, new international problems would arise."The Evian Conference – Hitler's Green Light for Genocide

Cardinal

He was created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

S. Clemente The Basilica of Saint Clement () is a Latin Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Pope Clement I located in Rome, Italy. Archaeologically speaking, the structure is a three-tiered complex of buildings: (1) the present basilica built just befor ...

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

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 15 December 1958. Cardinal Cicognani was later raised to

Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati The Diocese of Frascati (Lat.: ''Tusculana'') is a Latin suburbicarian see of the Diocese of Rome and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of the ...

on 23 May 1962. Because his brother, Gaetano, was already a living cardinal, having been elevated in 1953, an exception had to be made to the

Church law Canon law (from , , 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. Canon law includes the ...

that prohibited brothers from holding the title of cardinal simultaneously. On 14 November 1959, Cicognani became Secretary of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named the Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches (), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible f ...

. He was later named to the posts of

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. Th ...

President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (, ) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate and deputizes as the head of government of Vatican City, as well ...

, and President of the

Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; ) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the funds necessary for the Roman Curia to function". It was established ...

on 12 August 1961. With the appointments of 1962, Cicognani essentially became the

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, prime minister, and

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

of the Vatican. He attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(1962–1965), at which he served as Chairman of the Secretariat for Extraordinary Questions. Cicognani was also one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

1963 papal conclave A papal conclave was held from 19 to 21 June 1963 to elect a new pope to succeed John XXIII, who had died on 3 June 1963. Of the 82 eligible cardinal electors, all but two attended. On the sixth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Giovanni Mo ...

, which selected

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. On 30 April 1969, Cicognani resigned all of his posts. However, on 24 March 1972, he was elected and confirmed as

and thus received the title of the

suburbicarian see The seven suburbicarian dioceses (, ) are Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose ( titular) bishops are the (now six) ordinary members of the highest-ranking order of cardinals, the cardinal bishops (to which the cardinal patriar ...

of Ostia, in addition to his title of Cardinal Bishop of Frascati. Cicognani died in Rome, following a brief illness, at age 90. He is buried in the

Basilica di San Clemente The Basilica of Saint Clement () is a Latin Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Pope Clement I located in Rome, Italy. Archaeologically speaking, the structure is a three-tiered complex of buildings: (1) the present basilica built just before ...

. He was considered to be rather conservative in his views. He sought to stem

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

in the Catholic Church in America, and was once described as not being open to

Aggiornamento ''Aggiornamento'' () is an Italian word meaning "bringing up to date", "updating". It was made famous by Pope John XXIII, and was one of the key words at the Second Vatican Council, used by both bishops and the media. John XXIII In his speech ...

.''Time''
"The Fine Papal Art of Creating New Cardinals"
9 June 1967.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cicognani, Amleto Giovanni Deans of the College of Cardinals 20th-century Italian cardinals Presidents of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Apostolic nuncios to the United States 1883 births 1973 deaths Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI People from the Province of Ravenna Cardinal Secretaries of State Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII People from Brisighella