Riccardo Bartoloni (12 July 1885 – 11 October 1933) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

from 1918 to 1933.

Biography

Riccardo Bartoloni was born on 12 July 1885 in

Scarperia e San Piero Scarperia e San Piero is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence, in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northeast of Florence. It was created on 1 January 2014 after the merger of former ''comuni'' of Scarperia and ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy. He earned degrees in theology, philosophy, and canon law, and he was ordained a priest on 12 August 1909. He was for a time the choir director at the Cathedral in Florence and championed the music of

Lorenzo Perosi Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi (21 December 1872 – 12 October 1956) was an Italian composer of sacred music and the only member of the Giovane Scuola who did not write opera. In the late 1890s, while he was still only in his twenties, Perosi was a ...

, not only there but while representing the Holy See abroad as a diplomat. He played a crucial role in launching the career of the Venezuelan composer Juan Bautista Plaza. He worked in the nunciature in Venezuela from 1918 to 1922, and then from 1922 to 1928 in the offices of the Secretariat of State in Rome. On 30 April 1928,

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

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Laodicea in Syria Laodicea () was a port city and important colonia of the Roman Empire in ancient Syria, near the modern city of Latakia. It was also called Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad mare. Under Septimius Severus, it was the capital of Roman Syria, and ...

and Apostolic Internuncio to Lithuania. He became the Nuncio on 9 November 1928. He received his episcopal consecration on 27 May 1928 from Cardinal

Pietro Gasparri Pietro Gasparri (5 May 1852 – 18 November 1934) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, diplomat and politician in the Roman Curia and the signatory of the Lateran Pacts. He served also as Cardinal Secretary of State under Popes Benedict XV and Pope ...

in the Basilica of

San Lorenzo in Lucina The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina ( or simply ; ) is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome, Italy. The basilica is located in Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina in the Rione Colonna, about two blocks ...

. He supported the local clergy's struggle to protect the independence of the lay Catholic organization

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

from government control. For this he was declared ''persona non grata'' and expelled from the country in the summer of 1931. On 9 April 1933, Pope Pius appointed him Apostolic Delegate to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, Arabia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. He died in Jerusalem on 11 October 1933 at the age of 48, following an operation for acute appendicitis.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Riccardo Bartoloni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartoloni, Riccardo 1885 births 1933 deaths Diplomats from Florence Apostolic nuncios to Lithuania Apostolic nuncios to Egypt Deaths from appendicitis