Giuseppe Carraro
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Giuseppe Carraro (26 June 1899 – 30 December 1980) was an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
prelate who served as the Bishop of Verona from 1958 until his retirement in 1978. He also served as the Bishop of Vittorio Veneto until his transferral to the see of
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
. Carraro has been implicated in the sexual abuse scandal perpetrated against deaf-mute students of the Provolo Institute. There have been a string of allegations against the late Carraro himself that prompted the cause for his beatification to be suspended around 2010 pending the results of the investigation. The cause resumed in 2012 after an investigation cleared Carraro of all charges despite discrepancies remaining over the late bishop's actions. He was considered a man of holiness and this allowed for his cause of beatification to be introduced in 2005 at which stage he was referred to as a
Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
. He now has the posthumous title of
Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...
after
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
- in 2015 - confirmed his
heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...
.


Life

Giuseppe Carraro was born in
Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–300 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...
on 26 June 1899 to Sebastiano Carraro (7 July 1854 – 9 January 1956) and Clotilde Pizzati (19 September 1866 – 4 November 1948) and was baptized with the name Giovanni Giuseppe Moisè. His parents often called him "Beppino". His siblings were: * Emilio (21 September 1898 – 5 January 1966) * Margherita (1901–???) * Attilio (1910–1974) * Sergio (???–1958) * Lisetta In 1910 Father Eugenio Dorigon suggested to his parents that he commence his studies for the priesthood since Carraro had just finished school at that time. Despite the economic difficulties to ensure this he commenced his studies in
Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...
in October 1910. The outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
led to his conscription on 17 June 1917 and he remained there until 13 April 1920. On 31 March 1923 Bishop Giacinto Longhin
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 ...
him into the priesthood. It had been from Longhin that he received his
First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...
and
Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
as well as the
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 ...
and all sacred orders prior to ordination. He continued his studies in
Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
and received a degree in
natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
. He also met
Elia Dalla Costa Elia Dalla Costa (14 May 1872 – 22 December 1961) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal who served as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, Archbishop of ...
- future cardinal and
Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...
. From 1928 in Castelminio di Resana he taught various subjects that included humanities and
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
. From 1938 he was named as the
spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divinity, divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters ...
to the seminarians. He became rector in 1944 as the replacement of Vittorio Alessi and worked to ensure that seminarians grew from a cultural and spiritual perspective.
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 ...
later appointed Carraro as the Titular Bishop of Usula and the Auxiliary Bishop of Treviso. He received his
episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
on 1 November 1952 from Bishop Antonio Mantiero. The co-consecrators included Girolamo Bortignon and Gioacchino Muccin. Pius XII later named Carraro as the Bishop of Vittorio Veneto on 12 April 1956 and Carraro was enthroned in his new see on 9 June 1956. He took as his episcopal motto "Vince in bono".
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 ...
appointed him as the Bishop of Verona where he was installed in the beginning of 1959. He partook in all sessions of 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 ...
and partook in the 1967 and 1974 Synods of Bishops at the behest of
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 ...
. He resigned from his position in mid-1978 prior to turning 75 as
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 ...
dictated. Carraro ordained Mario Zenari - future cardinal - to the priesthood in 1970 and Giuseppe Zenti in 1971. He also served as a co-consecrator for the consecration of Giulio Bevilacqua. On 25 June 1978 he was present in the diocesan cathedral for the installation of his successor. Carraro died on 30 December 1980 and was buried in the diocesan cathedral. He had spent his retirement on the hill of San Fidenzio. Cardinal Marco Cé - the
Patriarch of Venice The Patriarch of Venice (; ) is the ordinary of the Patriarchate of Venice. The bishop is one of only four patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The other three are the Patriarch of Lisbon, the Patriarch of the East Indies an ...
- celebrated his funeral and said: "We have lost a brother; full of spiritual wisdom and pastoral experience but we have been given an intercessor in heaven".


Beatification process

The introduction of the cause for sainthood took place on a local level on 30 December 2005 even though the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...
didn't approve the cause to begin until 5 June 2006 (the C.C.S. granted the "
nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...
" for the cause's formal introduction). The process closed on 18 October 2008 and the C.C.S. validated the process on 26 February 2010. The
Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...
- documentation on his life of
heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...
- was submitted to
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, ...
in 2012 for assessment. He was declared to be
venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...
on 16 July 2015 after
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
had confirmed that he lived a life of
heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...
.


Sexual abuse allegations

Carraro has been implicated in sexual abuse allegations made when it was revealed that there was widespread abuse of deaf-mute children from the Provolo Institute. Gianni Bisoli (b. 1949) accused Carraro of having molested him on five separate occasions while he was at the institute from ages nine to fifteen. Bisoli accused Carraro of having once attempted to sodomize him with a banana. But a diocesan probe cleared Carraro of all allegations despite never having interviewed alleged victims and limiting testimonies to a select few people. Bishop Giuseppe Zenti - the Bishop of Verona - accused those former students of fabricating their claims to a left-leaning paper while referring to the accusations as nothing more than "lies" and a cheap stunt.


See also

*
Catholic Church in Italy The Italian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Italy, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion, communion with the Pope in Rome, under the Conference of Italian Bishops. The pope serves also as Primate of Italy and Bishop ...
* List of venerated Christians * Diocese of Verona


References


External links


Hagiography Circle



Geni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carraro, Giuseppe 1899 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century venerated Christians Bishops of Verona Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals Italian venerated Catholics Clergy from Venice Venerated Catholics by Pope Francis People from Mira