Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani (1 October 1871 – 13 January 1951) was an Italian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Vicar General of Rome, Secretary of the Holy Office, and Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930.

Biography

Early life and ordination

Marchetti Selvaggiani was born in Rome to Vincenzo and Valeria ( Caretti) Marchetti Selvaggiani. A boyhood friend of Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII), he studied at the Almo Collegio Capranica and Pontifical Gregorian University. Marchetti Selvaggiani was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Francesco di Paola Cassetta on 4 April 1896.

Roman Curia

He then served in the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, as a ''minutante'', until 1900. From 1900 to 1906, he was auditor of the Apostolic Delegation to the United States in Washington, D.C. He was

attached "Attached" is the 160th episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The eighth episode of the seventh season. This explores the relationship between two cultures on an exoplanet and between Crush ...

to the secretariat of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs for a year before becoming auditor of the Apostolic Nunciature to Germany in 1907. Marchetti Selvaggiani was named privy chamberlain of his holiness on 25 December 1914, domestic prelate of his holiness on 7 July 1915, and

protonotary apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

on 26 September 1917. From 1915 to 1918, he was a confidential representative of the Holy See in

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Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Nuncio

On 16 February 1918, he was appointed Internuncio to Venezuela and Titular Archbishop of Seleucia di Isauria. He received his episcopal consecration in the chapel of the

Pontifical Latin American College The Pontifical Latin American College (Italian: ''Pontificio Collegio Pio Latino Americano'', Spanish: ''Pontificio Colegio Pio Latino Americano'') is one of the Roman Colleges of the Roman Catholic Church, for students from Central and South A ...

on the following 14 April from Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, with Archbishops

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and

Bonaventura Cerretti Bonaventura Cerretti (17 June 1872 – 8 May 1933) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura from 1931 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in ...

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 Churches, ...

. With the raising in rank of the papal diplomatic mission to Venezuela and of the Venezuelan mission to the Holy See, he became

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 or ...

on 21 May 1920. On 4 December of the same year, he became Apostolic Nuncio to Austria.

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples

He was made secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith on 15 December 1922. As secretary, he served as the second-highest official of that dicastery under Cardinal

Willem van Rossum Willem Marinus van Rossum, C.Ss.R. (3 September 1854 – 30 August 1932) was a Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was made a cardinal in 1911, led the Apostolic Penitentiary from 1915 to 1918, and served as Prefect of the Congr ...

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. In addition to his role as secretary, he served as an extraordinary

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

envoy to Haile Selassie I,

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...

Cardinal

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 fro ...

created him Cardinal-Priest of

S. Maria Nuova Santa Francesca Romana ( it, Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana), previously known as Santa Maria Nova, is a Roman Catholic church situated next to the Roman Forum in the rione Campitelli in Rome, Italy. History An oratory putatively was e ...

in the consistory of 30 June 1930. In late 1930, in response to a growing Protestant presence in Rome, he was also appointed to head the Pontifical Organization for Preservation of the Faith and for the Provision of New Churches in Rome. On 9 May 1931, Marchetti Selvaggiani was named the Vicar General of Rome; as vicar general, he governed the Diocese of Rome in the name of the pope, who is Bishop of Rome. He advised local priests to avoid theaters and sports games. He became

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

of the Lateran Basilica on 26 May 1931, and Cardinal Bishop of Frascati on 15 June 1936.

Secretary of the Holy Office

Just after

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

was elected in 1939, Cardinal Donato Sbarretti, head of the Holy Office, died, and Pius named Cardinal Marchetti-Selvaggiani to the position. On becoming the senior cardinal-bishop in 1948, Marchetti-Selvaggiani became dean of the Sacred College and Bishop of Ostia in addition to his first bishopric see. He also succeeded as prefect of the Sacred Congregation Ceremonial, and continued in all these positions until his death.

Death

Selvaggiani died from a

cerebral thrombosis A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...

in Rome, at age 79. He is buried in Campo Verano.

References

Sources

Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchetti-Selvaggiani, Francesco 1871 births 1951 deaths Clergy from Rome Deans of the College of Cardinals Almo Collegio Capranica alumni Apostolic Nuncios to Austria Apostolic Nuncios to Venezuela 20th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Cardinal-bishops of Ostia 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Cardinal Vicars Members of the Holy Office Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology Deaths from cerebral thrombosis Pontifical Gregorian University alumni