Lorenzo Frana, also known as Renzo Frana, (13 October 1926 – 7 November 2005) was an Italian priest of the Catholic Church who was the

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to UNESCO The Permanent Observer of Holy See to UNESCO is the representative of the Holy See to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is based in Paris. The Church also has representatives at the headquarters of ...

from 1975 to 2002

Biography

Lorenzo Frana was born in

Gandino Gandino (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Bergamo. Gandino borders the following municipalities: Casnigo, Caz ...

(

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

), Italy. He attended a technical school and earned a diploma as an expert dyer. After being ordained a priest, in order to prepare for a diplomatic career, he entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (, ) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Despite its name, the P ...

in 1959. His early assignments as a member of the diplomatic service of the Holy See included stints as auditor in Great Britain and as chargé d’affaires in the United States. In 1975

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 ...

named him Permanent Observer of the Holy See to UNESCO. Throughout his tenure in that position he invited a variety of Church prelates to head the Holy See's delegation to UNESCO's annual meeting, either an Apostolic Nuncio, an official of the Secretariat of State, or a senior official 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 ...

. Frana allowed himself to take this role only once. In anticipation of his retirement the next year, he delivered the Holy See's principal address to a UNESCO meeting in October 2001. His tenure as Permanent Observer ended with the appointment of his successor on 11 May 2002. He retired to Gandino where he died in a retirement home on 7 November 2005, at the age of 79. Frana was an expert on sacred art. He organized an exhibit for UNESCO of crèche figures and then used it as the basis for a museum established in his home town in 1989: il Museo del presepio in Gandino.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frana, Lorenzo 1920s births 2005 deaths Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Permanent observers of the Holy See to the United Nations Clergy from the Province of Bergamo