Antonio Riberi (15 June 1897 – 16 December 1967) was a Monegasque prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the fifth apostolic nuncio to Ireland and later as the

nuncio 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 Spain from 1962 until his death. He 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 1967.

Biography

Born in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

, Riberi studied 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 ...

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

, Italy, and the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

and

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 Rome, where 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 ...

to the priesthood on 29 June 1922. He then furthered his studies until 1925 at the Institute of Social Sciences in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. From 1925 to 1930, Riberi served as

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

and secretary of the

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio'', an ecclesiastical dip ...

. He was raised to the rank of an honorary chamberlain of his holiness on 1 May 1925, and made counselor of the nunciature to Ireland in 1930. On 13 August 1934, Riberi was appointed

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 ...

Dara Dara is a given name in several languages. Dara, Daraa, or DARA may also refer to: Geography Africa * Dar'a, region in northern Ethiopia * Dara (woreda), region in southern Ethiopia Asia * Dara (Mesopotamia), an archeological site in Mard ...

. 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 28 October from Cardinal

Pietro Fumasoni Biondi Pietro Fumasoni Biondi (4 September 1872 – 12 July 1960) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in the Roman Curia from 1933 until his death in 196 ...

, 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 ...

. Riberi was later named

to the African missions dependent of the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregatio ...

on 4 November of that same year. During this time, he resided in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, Kenya. Archbishop Riberi, from 1939 to 1946, headed 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 ...

's assistance service for the prisoners of war and wounded soldiers of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Riberi arrived in China in 1942. In summer 1949, during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, the Communist forces captured the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

capital,

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. The Nationalist government of China retreated to

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

. Although most of the diplomatic corps in Nanjing also went to Guangzhou, Riberi remained in Nanjing. In 1950, the Holy See stated that participation in certain Communist Party-related organizations would result in

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

from the Church. In response, initiatives including Fr. Wang Liangzuo's "Guangyuan Declaration of Catholic Self-Reformation" gained support from Chinese Catholics. Riberi in turn denounced these initiatives. Riberi declared in 1951, following petitions (from the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

) for an

independent Catholic Church Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacrament ...

in that country, that "the

Catholic religion The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

... is superpolitical, indivisible by national boundaries or political differences ... Any so-called Independent Catholic Church ... is simply a schismatic church and not the true and one Catholic Church"."Catholics in China"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. 2 July 1951. Chinese authorities arrested Riberi on allegations of colluding with American intelligence and false accusations of participating in a plot to kill Mao Zedong. Under police guard, Riberi was deported to

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

. Riberi stayed in Hong Kong for two years, and after lobbying from the Republic of China (ROC), Bishop Yu Bin, and Cardinal

Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop of New York from 1939 until his death in 1967. F ...

, moved his nunciature to Taipei. Riberi became nuncio to Ireland on 19 February 1959, and to Spain on 28 April 1962. From 1962 to 1965, 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 ...

. 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. ...

San Girolamo della Carità San Girolamo della Carità is a church in Rome, Italy, located near the Palazzo Farnese and Campo de' Fiori. History According to tradition, this is the site of the domus of the matron Paula of Rome, Saint Paola who hosted Saint Jerome when he s ...

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 ...

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 26 June 1967, but died some months later in Rome, at age 70. Cardinal Riberi is buried in his family's tomb in

Limone Piemonte Limone Piemonte ( Vivaro-Alpine: ''Limon'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about south of Cuneo, on the border with France. As of September 2017, it had a p ...

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
*
Cardinal Riberi's sermon to the Legionaries of Christ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riberi, Antonio 1897 births 1967 deaths Monegasque cardinals Monegasque Roman Catholics Apostolic nuncios to China Apostolic nuncios to Ireland Apostolic nuncios to Spain Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI