Fernando Cento (10 August 1883 – 13 January 1973) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Major Penitentiary of Apostolic Penitentiary.

Early life

Fernando Cento was born in Pollenza, Italy. His parents were Evaristo Cento and his second wife, Ermelinda Andreani. He had a half-sister, Rosa, and a brother, Vincenzo. He was educated 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 ...

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

from 1893 to 1905, where he was taught philosophy and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, and later at 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 ...

, where he studied

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

. He continued his studies at

La Sapienza University The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

, Rome where he obtained a doctorate in letters. He received the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

on 17 December 1905 in the basilica of the Madonna della Misericordia.

Priest

He was ordained on 23 December 1905 in

; he had to obtain a dispensation for being not yet 23. He served as professor of literature at the Seminary of Macerata and of philosophy at the State Institute of Macerata from 1906 to 1916. He demonstrated excellent qualities as a preacher in several Italian dioceses. He was called to military service when Italy entered the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1915 and was attached to the military hospital of

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

from 1915 to 1917. He was created Privy chamberlain of His Holiness on 15 November 1917.

Bishop and nuncio

He was appointed Bishop of Acireale 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 ...

on 22 July 1922. He was consecrated on 3 September 1922, by Cardinal Giovanni Tacci Porcelli, Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Church, assisted by Domenico Pasi, Bishop of Macerata-Tolentino, and by Placido Ferniani, Bishop of Ruvo e Bitonto. He was promoted to

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 Seleucia Pieria on 24 June 1926 and was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela four days later. He was next named Apostolic Nuncio to Peru on 26 July 1936. In addition, he was responsible for the affairs of the church in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, which did not have diplomatic relations with 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 ...

for nearly forty years. He was named nuncio to Ecuador on 25 July 1937 once the Ecuadorian government and the Holy See established diplomatic relations. He was appointed nuncio to Belgium and Internuncio to

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

on 9 March 1946. He became Nuncio to Portugal on 26 October 1953.

Cardinal

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 ...

created him a cardinal of the order of cardinal priests on 15 December 1958 and assigned

Sant'Eustachio Sant'Eustachio () is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...

as his titular church on 12 March 1959. He was appointed as Major Penitentiary of Apostolic Penitentiary on 12 February 1962. 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 ...

for which he produced a report on the practice of

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

that was not favorably received by many at the council. He participated in the conclave of 1963 that elected

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 ...

. He was named a Cardinal bishop and given 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 ...

Velletri Velletri (; ; ) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring communes are Rocca di Papa, Lar ...

on 23 April 1965. He resigned his post of Major Penitentiary in 1967. He died on 13 January 1973 in Rome. He was buried in the parish church of S. Antonio, Pollenza, where he had celebrated his first mass.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cento, Fernando 1883 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Bishops in Sicily 20th-century Italian cardinals Apostolic nuncios to Belgium Apostolic nuncios to Luxembourg Apostolic nuncios to Portugal Apostolic nuncios to Venezuela Apostolic nuncios to Peru Apostolic nuncios to Ecuador Participants in the Second Vatican Council Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII Pollenza