Giulio Serafini (12 October 1867 – 16 July 1938) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who 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 1930. He served as Prefect of the

Congregation of the Council The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardin ...

from 1930 until his death in 1938, after serving as the Commission's secretary from 1923 to 1930. He also led the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law from 1936 to 1938.

Biography

Serafini was born in

Bolsena Bolsena is a town and ''comune'' of Italy, in the province of Viterbo in northern Lazio on the eastern shore of Lake Bolsena. It is 10 km (6 mi) north-north west of Montefiascone and 36 km (22 mi) north-west of Viterbo. The an ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was educated at the

Minor Seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

and the Roman-Pio Seminary,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he earned a ''doctorate utriusque iuris'' (in both

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and civil

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

). He was ordained a priest on 6 April 1890. He served as a faculty member of 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 ...

of Orvieto from 1895 until 1901 and was its rector from 1897 until 1901. He was created Privy chamberlain of His Holiness on 7 January 1904. He served as faculty member of the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum of Sant'Apollinare between 1901 and 1907. He was rector of the Pontificio Seminario Pio from 1901 to 1903.

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

appointed him Bishop of Pescia on 4 March 1907, and he was consecrated on 26 May by

Pietro Respighi Pietro Respighi S.T.D. JUD (22 September 1843 – 22 March 1913) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and vicar general of Rome. He was made a cardinal in 1899. Biography H ...

Cardinal Vicar Cardinal vicar () is a title commonly given to the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome for the portion of the diocese within Italy (i.e. excluding the portion within Vatican City). The official title, as given in the ''Annuario Pontificio'', i ...

of Rome. On 21 December of the same year he was transferred to the

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of Lampsacus. On 16 April 1923,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

named him a consultor to the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named the Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches (), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible f ...

. and on 28 October 1923 Secretary of the

. Pope Pius created him

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 ...

Santa Maria sopra Minerva Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major Church (building), churches of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominicans) in Rome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was b ...

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 30 June 1930. Pope Pius named him Prefect of the

on 4 July 1930 and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of Code of Canon Law in 1936. Serafini held both positions until his death on 16 July 1938. He is buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serafini, Giulio 20th-century Italian cardinals 1938 deaths 1867 births Members of the Sacred Congregation of the Council Dicastery for Legislative Texts Bolsena Bishops appointed by Pope Pius X Cardinals created by Pope Pius XI