Domenico Tardini (29 February 1888 – 30 July 1961) was a longtime aide to

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 ...

in the Secretariat of State.

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 ...

named him

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 ...

and, in this position the most prominent member of 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 ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Early life

He attended the Angelo Braschi School and entered the

Pontifical Roman Seminary The Pontifical Roman Major Seminary () is the major seminary of the Diocese of Rome. It is located at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. Since 2017, the rector of the seminary has been Gabriele Faraghini, a priest of the Little Brothers of ...

in 1903 from which he graduated with honours in philosophy and theology.Casula, Nota Biografica IX 21 September 1912 he was ordained a priest. He accepted a call to teach liturgy and theology at the Roman Seminary and the '' Collegio Urbano'' of the Propaganda Fide. In 1923, he was nominated by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

to be general assistant of the

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

movement. In 1925, the Pope nominated him to a second organisation, ''Società della Gioventù Cattolica Italiana''. From 1921 onward, he worked as well in the Congregation of Ordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs where he was named Sustituto in 1929 and Secretary in 1937. With Giovanni Battista Montini, later Pope Paul VI, he was the main assistant to

Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, until 1939.

Secretariat of State

After his election as

, Pacelli appointed Luigi Maglione as his successor as Cardinal Secretary of State. Maglione did not exercise the influence of his predecessor, who as Pope continued his close relation with Monsignori Giovanni Battista Montini and Tardini. After the death of Maglione in 1944, Pius left the position vacant and named Tardini head of its foreign section and Montini head of the internal section. Tardini and Montini continued serving there until 1952, when Pius XII decided to elevate both of them into 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, ...

an honour which both turned down. When Tardini thanked him for not appointing him, Pius XII replied with a smile: *''"Monsignore mio, you thank me, for not letting me do what I wanted to do. I replied, "Yes Holy Father, I thank you for everything you have done for me, but even more, what you have not done for me. The Pope smiled.'' In November 1952, he was named Pro-Secretary of the State for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs by

, essentially co-serving as functional Secretary of State with Giovanni Battista Montini, who became Pro-Secretary of State for Ordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. In addition they were granted the privilege to wear Episcopal Insignia. Tardini continued in that position until the death of Pius XII. Tardini loved children and "adopted" the orphans of Villa Nazareth, for whom he organised recognition and assistance. Televised audiences with Pope Pius XII, and visits of Pope John XXIII and high-ranking foreign dignitaries, all arranged by Tardini, facilitated fundraising for the needy children.

Papabile and Cardinal Secretary of State

After the death of Pope Pius XII on 9 October 1958, Tardini, though not a cardinal and not even a bishop, was prominently mentioned as a possible successor because of his familiarity with and closeness to Pius. Instead, following the conclave, Tardini was named Secretary of State by the newly-elected

, filling the previous vacancy. Having declined being made Cardinal by Pius XII in 1953, he accepted the red hat 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 with the title of

Cardinal-Deacon 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. Ca ...

of '' S. Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine''. He was ordained as a

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 ...

later that month. Tardini did not seek the honour of the appointment, finally, of Cardinal Secretary of State. On the very night of the election of John XXII or as the first papal appointment next morning (biographers differ on this) Tardini met with the new Pope, who asked him to become his Secretary of State. He went reluctantly:

''He did not give me any choice. I told the Holy Father, that I would not serve under him, because new policies would need new people. I reminded him that I frequently disagreed with him in the past. I reminded him that I was tired and worn out and that my health was getting worse. I told him about my long cherished ambition of at last giving myself entirely to the orphan boys of Villa Nazareth. It made no difference. The Pope listened to me with kindness and interest but to every point he replied, I understand but I want you to be my Secretary of State. Finally I knelt down and offered him my obedience.''

As Secretary of State, Tardini broke the taboo on discussing Vatican finances in October 1959, holding a press conference with Vatican-accredited journalists during a pay dispute with Vatican employees. On 20 January 1959, Pope John XXIII summoned Cardinal Tardini to float the idea of an

Ecumenical Council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...

. It would involve all bishops of every rite. Tardini's response was positive to the point that the Pope was surprised. John XXIII later referred to this discussion as the decisive moment for his decision to hold an ecumenical council. Tardini assisted in the preparations for

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

, giving at times his own interpretation of the forthcoming epochal event. Reportedly, he tried to resign several times for health reasons but was asked to stay on by the disarmingly witty John XXIII. Tardini died in Rome on 30 July 1961 of a massive heart attack. He was buried in the Carmel at Vetralla. At the first anniversary of his death,

left the Vatican to pay his respects at his burial site.

Writings

*Domenico Tardini, ''Leone XIII, Le glorie de un pontificato, Nel venticinquesimo della morte'', Roma 1928 *Domenico Tardini, ''Diario inedito (1933–1936)'' Manoscrito, 1936 *Domenico Tardini, ''San Tommaso d’Aquino e la Romanita'', 1937 *Domenico Tardini, ''Gioachino Belli poeta delle plebe di Roma'', 1941 *Domenico Cardinale Tardini, ''Pio XII'', Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1960

Honours

* 1935: Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold.

Literature

*Carlo Felice Casula, ''Domenico Tardini 1888 – 1961'', Edizione Studium Roma, Roma, 1988 *Peter Hebblethwaite, ''John XXIII, Pope of the Council'', Revised Edition, HarperCollins, London, 1994 *Pascalina Lehnert, ''Ich durfte Ihm Dienen, Erinnerungen an Papst Pius XII., '' Naumann, Würzburg, 1984 *Giulio Nicolini, ''Il Cardinale Domenico Tardini'', Messagero, Padova, *Pio XII, ''La Allocuzione nel consistorio Segreto del 12 Gennaio 1953'' in Pio XII, Discorsi e Radiomessagi di Sua Santita, Vatican City, 1953 * John F. Pollard, ''Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: Financing the Vatican, 1850–1950'', Cambridge University Press, 2005 * Giancarlo Zizola, ''L’Utopia di Papa Giovanni'' Citadelle Editrice, Assisi, 1973 *Burkhart Schneider, ''Pius XII, Friede, das Werk der Gerechtigkeit'', Musterschmidt, Frankfurt, Göttingen, 1968

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tardini, Domenico 1888 births 1961 deaths Pope Paul VI 20th-century Italian cardinals Clergy from Rome World War II political leaders Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Cardinal Secretaries of State Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII Pontifical Urban University alumni Pontifical Roman Seminary alumni Secretaries for Relations with States of the Holy See