Giovanni Cheli (4 October 1918 – 8 February 2013) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who had a career 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 ...

and then in the senior ranks of 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 ...

. He was 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 ...

in 1998.

Early years

Cheli was born in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy. He was educated at the seminary of Asti and soon developed his skills in

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 ...

. At the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

in Rome, he obtained his doctorate in that subject in 1942 and was ordained on 21 April of that year. Cheli returned to the parish of Asti and became diocesan vice-counselor of the ''Young Men of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

''.

Diplomat

He prepared for a career in the diplomatic corps at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. He entered the Vatican diplomatic service in 1952. At first, Cheli had the minor role of

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

of the nunciature in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and then in more important roles in Spain and Italy. He also did pastoral work in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and worked for the Pontifical Council for Public Affairs from 1967 to 1973. He became Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in 1973. By this time Cheli was known for his knowledge of the problems the Vatican encountered relating to the communist nations of Eastern Europe. On 8 September 1978,

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 ...

named him

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 Santa Giusta and gave him the rank of nuncio, though his title remained permanent observer. He received his episcopal consecration on 16 September.

Roman Curia

He was named Pro-Prefect of the Pontifical Commission for Migration and Tourism on 18 September 1986, and his title changed to president when it was reorganized as the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in 1988. John Paul II made Cheli

Cardinal-Deacon 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. Ca ...

of Santi Cosma e Damiano 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 21 February 1998. On 1 March 2008, he was elevated to

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. ...

. On 15 June 1998, he retired from his role at the Pontifical Council upon the appointment of his successor, Stephen Fumio Hamao. He continued to be outspoken in retirement. He criticized the rule excluding cardinals over the age of 80 from participating in a papal conclave. He told a journalist in December 2003: "It is a great deprivation for cardinals. Perhaps different limits can be used in future. Perhaps those whose minds have gone should not vote. We all know who they are. And some of them are in their seventies." Behind the scenes he participated in a campaign in opposition to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

's appointments of

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

as Secretary of State, believing Bertone lacked the requisite diplomatic experience. He was decorated with the Order of Isabel the Catholic and named commendatore of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

, and of the Verdienstkreuz of the Federal Republic of Germany. Cheli died on 8 February 2013 of natural causes, at the age of 94. His funeral was held on 9 February at

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

in Vatican City with Cardinal

Angelo Sodano Angelo Raffaele Sodano (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and previously as the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006; S ...

celebrating the Mass.

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheli, Giovanni 1918 births 2013 deaths Clergy from Turin Permanent observers of the Holy See to the United Nations 20th-century Italian cardinals 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Pontifical Lateran University alumni Diplomats from Turin 21st-century Italian cardinals Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul I