Sebastiano Nicotra (31 August 1855 – 21 May 1929) 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 1916 to 1929 he was an

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

with the rank of archbishop.

Biography

Sebastiano Nicotra was born on 31 August 1855 in San Alfio di Giarre, Italy. He earned a degree in canon law at the

Almo Collegio Capranica The Almo Collegio Capranica is the oldest Roman college, founded in 1457 by Cardinal Domenico Capranica (1400–1458) in his own palace for thirty young clerics, who received an education suitable to prepare them for the priesthood. History ...

. He was ordained a priest on 21 December 1878. He joined the diplomatic service of the

in 1889 and served as secretary in the apostolic nunciature to Belgium. In 1900 he became auditor in the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and then an advisor in the nunciature in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

in Vienna. On 16 December 1916,

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

appointed him titular archbishop of Heraclea in Europa and Apostolic Nuncio to Chile. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1917 from Pope Benedict. On 1 October 1918, Pope Benedict named him Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium. For six months in 1920 Nicotra was Apostolic Administrator of Eupen–Malmedy–Sankt Vith, an area on the Belgian-German border where a referendum was being held to confirm the transfer of control to Belgium. His role was that of a neutral outsider. The German-speaking priests of the territory continued to look to Germany for leadership while treating him respectfully. On 30 May 1923,

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal. He died on 21 May 1929 at the age of 73.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Sebastiano Nicotra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicotra, Sebastiano 1855 births 1929 deaths Religious leaders from Catania Almo Collegio Capranica alumni Apostolic nuncios to Chile Apostolic nuncios to Belgium Apostolic nuncios to Portugal