Giovanni Benelli (12 May 1921 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Florence from 1977 until his death. He previously served as Deputy Secretary of State for the Holy See from 1967 until he was appointed to Florence and made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

the same year.

Biography

Early life and ordination

Giovanni Benelli was born 12 May 1921 in Poggiole di

Vernio Vernio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Prato in the region of Tuscany in Italy, located about northwest of Florence and about north of Prato. It has 6,158 inhabitants. History Vernio's name derives from that of an ancient ...

, Tuscany, to Luigi and Maria (née Simoni) Benelli.

Baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

the day after his birth, on 13 May, he was the youngest of his parents' five surviving children, and his uncle Guido was a revered

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

. Benelli entered 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 ...

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

in 1931, and then attended 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 ...

and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome. He received the clerical

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

on 23 December 1939, and was eventually

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 31 October 1943 by Bishop Giuseppe Debernardi.Saxon, Wolfgang. "Giovanni Cardinal Benelli Dead", ''The New York Times'', 27 October 1982
/ref> At age 22, he had not yet reached the canonical age of 24 for priestly ordination, and therefore was given a special dispensation. Benelli finished his studies at the Gregorian in 1947, and also undertook

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

work in Rome until 1950.

Roman Curia

His abilities were noticed by the Church, becoming private secretary in 1946 to Deputy Secretary of State Giovanni Battista Montini. Benelli joined the diplomatic service in 1948, and was raised to the rank of

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

on 16 July 1950. He served as the Secretary of nunciatures to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

(1950–1953) and to France (1953–1960). Benelli was then appointed to the following posts:

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

or of nunciature to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(1960–1962), counsellor of nunciature to Spain (1962–1965), and permanent observer of Holy See to UNESCO in Paris (1965–1966).

Archbishop

On 11 June 1966, he was appointed

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 Tusuro and

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; 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 organization. A nuncio is ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, as well as apostolic delegate to Western Africa. Benelli received his episcopal consecration on the following 11 September from

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 ...

Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Archbishop Pietro Sigismondi and Bishop Mario Longo Dorni 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 Churche ...

. These assignments gave him a deep interest in the battle against illiteracy and the Church's work for peace and economic development. Within a year, on 29 June 1967, he entered 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 ...

as Substitute, or Deputy, of the Secretariat of State. As Cicognani was too old to fulfil most of his duties, they fell to Benelli. He worked closely with his former master, now

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 ...

, and remained in this post for ten years. Some referred to him as "the Berlin Wall" and the "Vatican Kissinger" in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

for his aggressive and almost

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

tenure as Substitute of the Secretariat of State, including having the more senior Curialists channel business through him. Benelli was promoted to Archbishop of Florence on 3 June 1977, and was created

Cardinal-Priest 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. ...

of Santa Prisca by Paul VI 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 27 June 1977.

Papabile

Upon the deaths of both

and

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I (born Albino Luciani; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal h ...

, Benelli was considered the leading moderate

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

to succeed them, because of his close ties with Paul and his Italian heritage. He was one of the cardinal electors in the conclaves of

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

and October 1978. During the August conclave, Benelli supported Albino Luciani, the eventual winner, who became

. In the October conclave in 1978, he was one of two leading Italian candidates in a tie with Giuseppe Siri to succeed John Paul I, but was defeated with fellow Italian candidate Siri on 16 October by Karol Wojtyła, who became

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

Later life and death

Benelli continued in his capacity of Cardinal and Archbishop of Florence until 26 October 1982 when he died of a sudden heart attack in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, at age 61. His funeral Mass was celebrated by Cicognani's successor,

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was an important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the religious persec ...

, and his remains were buried in

Santa Maria del Fiore Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christm ...

cathedral.

In other media

* '' The Last Confession'', a 2007 stage play where Benelli is the lead character.

References

Notes

Bibliography

(1976) Pancorbo, Luis: "Monseñor Benelli" en "Diálogos italianos". pp. 343–353. Sedmay, Madrid. ''(in Spanish)''

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benelli 1921 births 1982 deaths People from the Province of Prato 20th-century Italian cardinals Apostolic nuncios to Senegal Permanent observers of the Holy See to the United Nations 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Roman Catholic archbishops of Florence Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI