Filippo Bernardini (11 November 1884 – 26 August 1954) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He spent almost his entire career in the diplomatic service 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 ...

and was given the rank of archbishop in 1933. He was

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 ...

to Australia for two years before taking up the position of Apostolic Nuncio to Switzerland where he served from 1935 to 1953. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was active in the

Catholic resistance to Nazism Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany was a component of German resistance to Nazism and of Resistance during World War II. The role of the Catholic Church during the Nazi years remains a matter of much contention. From the outset of Nazi rule in ...

and provided assistance to Jews during the

Nazi Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and #Collaboration, its collaborators systematically murdered some Holoc ...

. He served briefly as Secretary of the

Congregation for Propagation of the Faith A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

just before his death. Before entering the diplomatic service he spent 19 years as a teacher and administrator at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U. ...

. He was the nephew of

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

Pietro Gasparri Pietro Gasparri, GCTE (5 May 1852 – 18 November 1934) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, diplomat and politician in the Roman Curia and the signatory of the Lateran Pacts. He served also as Cardinal Secretary of State under Popes Benedict XV a ...

(1852-1934), one of the leading Church figures of his era.

Biography

Bernardini was born in Pieve di Ussita, in the

province of Macerata The province of Macerata ( it, provincia di Macerata) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Macerata. The province includes 55 comunes (Italian: ''comuni'') in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Macera ...

, Italy, on 11 November 1884. He was ordained as a Catholic priest on 12 March 1910. He taught in Rome at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant'Apollinare before becoming Professor of Canon Law at the

in 1914 and left 19 years later as Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law there. He spent the last two of his years associated with Catholic University on sabbatical in Rome helping to edit his uncle's two-volume treatise on marriage and other writings. While teaching he had also served as secretary of the pontifical commission that produced the

1917 Code of Canon Law The 1917 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1917 CIC, from its Latin title ), also referred to as the Pio-Benedictine Code,Dr. Edward Peters accessed June-9-2013 was the first official comprehensive codification of Latin canon law. Ordered ...

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 ...

appointed him

to Australia and Titular Archbishop of

Antiochia in Pisidia Antioch in Pisidia – alternatively Antiochia in Pisidia or Pisidian Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας) and in Roman Empire, Latin: ''Antiochia Caesareia'' or ''Antiochia Colonia Caesarea'' – was a city in th ...

on 20 March 1933 and consecrated on 21 May. In 1935 he was posted to Switzerland as

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 ...

. In this capacity, he served as a Vatican diplomat in a neutral country during the period of the Second World War and

. He was among the many Vatican diplomats who acted honourably to assist Jews during the Holocaust. He sent intelligence to the Vatican about the Nazi plans against the Jews. In 1944, he was instrumental in maintaining the lines of communication between

Lelio Vittorio Valobra Lelio Vittorio Valobra (1900 – 1976 in Genoa) was a Jewish Italian lawyer and the chairman of DELASEM, an exponent of the Jewish resistance. In 1935, Valobra was a leading member of the Jewish community of Genoa, and was the keynote speaker ...

, head of the clandestine

DELASEM Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants (Delegazione per l'Assistenza degli Emigranti Ebrei) or DELASEM, was an Italian and Jewish resistance organization that worked in Italy between 1939 and 1947. It is estimated that during World Wa ...

Jewish rescue organisation (settled in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 443,037 inhabitants, the urban area 1.315 mill ...

) and the organisation's Fr.

Francesco Repetto Monsignor Francesco Repetto (Genoa, 1914–1984) was an Italian priest and librarian. He is honored by Jews as a Righteous Among the Nations for his leading role in the clandestine DELASEM organization, which contributed to the saving of thousand ...

, who was still in Genoa. At the Genoa Curia many letters arrived from Jews in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

seeking news of their relatives and acquaintances in northern Italy. The flow of money between Switzerland (where Valobra and Raffaele Cantoni operated) and the DELASEM headquarters in Genoa always remained active due in part to the assistance of Bernardini. He was mentioned as a possible choice for appointment as Vatican Secretary of State in 1945. Bernardini was appointed Secretary of the

on 15 January 1953. He died of a heart attack on 26 August 1954 while visiting the village where he was born.

References

;Additional sources *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardini, Filippo Catholic University of America School of Canon Law faculty Apostolic Nuncios to Switzerland Apostolic Nuncios to Australia Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany 1884 births 1954 deaths