Giuseppe Germano Bernardini, OFMCap (27 September 1928 – 3 December 2023) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked as a missionary in Muslim-majority countries from 1957 to 2004 and served as Archbishop of İzmir, Turkey, from 1983 to 2004.

Biography

Giuseppe Germano Bernardini was born in Verica, a village in

Pavullo nel Frignano Pavullo nel Frignano ( Frignanese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Modenese Apeninnes. It is home to the medieval Castle of Montecuccolo, birthplace of the 17th century condottiero Raimondo Mont ...

, Italy, on 27 September 1928, the son of Sergio and Domenica Bernardini, both declared "Venerable" by

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. He was ordained a priest of the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

on 21 March 1953. His career as a missionary in Muslim countries began in 1957. On 19 December 1966 he was named Ecclesiastical Administrator of

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

. On 22 January 1983,

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 ...

appointed him Archbishop of İzmir. He received his episcopal consecration on 9 April from Archbishop Bruno Foresti. When the Vicariate of Anatolia was erected from the jurisdiction he once led as the Trabzon Mission on 30 November 1990, he was named Apostolic Administrator. Bernardini chaired the

Episcopal Conference of Turkey Episcopal Conference of Turkey is the committee meeting of the Catholic bishops in Turkey of the various ritual churches. It is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), and a guest member of the Southeast European Bishops ...

from 1989 to 1992. On 13 October 1999, addressing a meeting of the Synod of Bishops, the 2nd Special Assembly for Europe, he warned that Islam was intent on dominating Christian Europe. He said: "The 'domination' has already started with petrodollars, used not to create jobs in poor countries in North Africa and the Middle East, but to build mosques and cultural centers in Christian countries ... including Rome, center of Christianity". He advised especially against allowing Muslims to use Christian churches for their services. He called interfaith meetings with Muslims "a dialogue of the deaf". He retired on 11 October 2004 upon the appointment of his successor, Ruggero Franceschini. Bernardini died in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

on 3 December 2023, aged 95.Pavullo piange Padre Germano Bernardini

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardini, Giuseppe Germano 1928 births 2023 deaths Religious leaders from the Province of Modena Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Franciscan bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Turkey 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Turkey Italian expatriates in Turkey Roman Catholic archbishops of İzmir Italian expatriate bishops