Raffaele Calabria (11 December 1906–24 May 1982) was an Italian

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

bishop. During his career, he served as Archbishop of Otranto and

Archbishop of Benevento The Archdiocese of Benevento () is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church. It currently has five suffragan dioceses: the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia, the diocese of Avellino, the diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata de' Goti ...

Biography

Raffaele Calabria was born on 11 December 1906 in the town of

Lucera Lucera (Neapolitan language, Lucerino: ) is an Italian city of 34,243 inhabitants in the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia, and the seat of the Diocese of Lucera-Troia. Located upon a flat knoll in the Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, Italy. He studied at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

and received his degree in philosophy and theology, subjects he later taught in

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

. He was ordained a priest on 16 March 1929 and then consecrated a bishop on 29 June 1950, when he was appointed the Titular Archbishop of Soterioupolis on 6 May 1950, which he held until 10 July 1952. Calabria was then appointed the Metropolitan Archbishop of Otranto on 10 July 1952, a position he held until 12 July 1960. Upon resigning as Archbishop of Otranto, he was made the Titular Archbishop of Heliopolis in Phoenicia on 12 July 1960, which he held until 1 January 1962. Finally, on the same date, Calabria was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Benevento. He held this title until 24 May 1982, when he resigned from pastoral governance. Calabria was a participant in 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 ...

, where he sided with more conservative positions. At the end of the council, he became engaged in a spirited debate with future Cardinal

Yves Congar Yves Marie-Joseph Congar (; 13 April 1904 – 22 June 1995) was a French Dominican friar, priest, and theologian. He is perhaps best known for his influence at the Second Vatican Council and for reviving theological interest in the Holy Spiri ...

about

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. Calabria was also responsible for renovating the

Benevento Cathedral Benevento Cathedral () is a church in Benevento, southern Italy. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Benevento, Archbishops of Benevento. It dates from the Lombards, Lombard foundation of the Duchy of Benevento, in the late 8th century ...

, including the large

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

. On 24 May 1982, Raffaele Calabria died in

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

at the age of 75.

References

External links

Archdiocese of Benevento

Archdiocese of Otranto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calabria, Raffaele 1906 births 1982 deaths People from Lucera Archbishops of Benevento 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Pontifical Gregorian University alumni