Francesco Lardone (12 January 1887 – 30 January 1980) was an Italian-born prelate of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

who became a U.S. citizen in 1937. He taught for 25 years at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and then served in the diplomatic service of 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 ...

as an Apostolic Nuncio and archbishop. He played a key role in arranging for bishops from the Communist-led countries of Eastern Europe to attend 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 ...

Biography

Francesco Lardone was born on 12 January 1887 in

Moretta Moretta is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about north of Cuneo. As of 1-1-2017, it had a population of 4 141 and an area of .All demographics and other st ...

, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 29 June 2010. He earned his doctorate in theology at the Pontifical School of Theology, Turin, in 1909, and his doctorate in civil and canon law at the Pontifical School of Canon Law, Turin, in 1912. He also studied paleography and diplomacy at the Royal University of Turin. He worked in parish ministry and then served as a Red Cross chaplain from 1915 to 1920. He was assistant editor of ''

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' is the daily newspaper of Vatican City which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role ...

'', the Vatican newspaper, from 1920 to 1923. He taught at

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

in Washington, D.C., from 1924 to 1949. He became an American citizen in 1937. On 21 May 1949,

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 ...

named him titular archbishop of Rhizaeum and Apostolic Nuncio to both

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on 30 June 1949 from Archbishop

Amleto Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. Cicogn ...

, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, at the Shrine if the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. On 21 November 1953, Pope Pius appointed him

Apostolic Nuncio to Peru The Apostolic Nunciature to the Republic of Peru is an ecclesiastical office of the Roman Catholic Church in Peru. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. Papal ...

. On 30 June 1959,

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 Apostolic Delegate to Turkey. His title changed to Internuncio with the erection of the Apostolic Internunciature to Turkey on 29 February 1960. Pope John used him as an intermediary, first with the Russian Embassy in Ankara and then with the representatives of the other Eastern European countries there, to win the approval of those governments to allow their Catholic bishops to attend the

. Pope John also considered making Lardone a cardinal in 1960. Lardone retired in 1966. He died on 30 January 1980 at his home in Moretta.

Writings

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Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lardone, Francesco 1887 births 1980 deaths People from the Province of Cuneo Apostolic nuncios to Haiti Apostolic nuncios to the Dominican Republic Apostolic nuncios to Peru Apostolic nuncios to Turkey