Angelo Maria Dolci (12 July 1867 – 13 September 1939) was an Italian prelate of the

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 ...

who was made a cardinal in 1933. He was Bishop of Gubbio from 1900 to 1906, Archbishop of Amalfi from 1911 to 1914, and Apostolic Vicar of Constantinople from 1914 to 1922. He also served in the diplomatic corps 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 an

Apostolic Delegate 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 org ...

Apostolic 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 org ...

from 1906 to 1910 and from 1914 to 1933.

Biography

Dolci was born in

Civitella d'Agliano Civitella d'Agliano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about northeast of Viterbo. Civitella d'Agliano borders the following municipalities: Alviano, Bagnor ...

on 12 July 1867 and was ordained a priest on 5 June 1890. In preparation for a career in the diplomatic service 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 c ...

in 1892.

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

appointed him bishop of Gubbio on 19 April 1900. He was named

apostolic delegate 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 org ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

on 7 December 1906. He was promoted to titular archbishop of Nazianzo on 9 December 1906. He was recalled to

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 ...

in 1910. He was appointed

Archbishop of Amalfi The Archdiocese of Amalfi-Cava de' Tirreni ( la, Archidioecesis Amalphitana-Cavensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, with its episcopal see at Amalfi, not far from Naples. It was named Archdiocese of Amalfi until ...

on 27 January 1911. He was appointed Apostolic Delegate and

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

on 10 June 1914. His assignment to the titular archdiocese of Gerapoli followed on 16 November 1914. On 14 December 1922 he was appointed as Apostolic 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 ...

, however, he could not take possession of the nunciature and was named Nuncio to Romania on 30 May 1923. He was created

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 ...

Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome Santa Maria della Vittoria ( en, Saint Mary of Victory, la, S. Mariae de Victoria) is a Catholic titular church and basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Rome, Italy. The church is known for the masterpiece of Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the Corn ...

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 fr ...

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 *Consistory ...

of 13 March 1933. He was appointed Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on 22 May 1933. He was elected to the order of cardinal bishops, taking the suburbicarian see of

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

15 June 1936. He participated in the conclave of 1939 that elected Pope Pius XII. He died in September of that year.

Armenian genocide

In 1915, as Apostolic Delegate to Constantinople (1914–1922), Archbishop Dolci wrote to

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother ...

and

Talaat Pasha Mehmed Talaat (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha,; tr, Talat Paşa, links=no was an Ottoman politician and convicted war criminal of the late Ottoman Empire who served as its leader from 1913 t ...

to ask for mercy on behalf of the Armenians, who were then being deported and massacred. Dolci reported back to the Vatican to

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his deat ...

and his secretary of foreign affairs

Eugenio Pacelli 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 ...

, the future Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Piu ...

. He admitted he had been deceived by the Turks, because despite giving contrary assurances to the Holy See delegate, they continued to massacre the Armenians. How Pope Benedict XV and Holy See Tried to Stop Armenian Genocide
/ref> He died at his home in Civitella d'Agliano on 13 September 1939.

Biography

Armenian genocide

References

Further reading