Angelo Acerbi

Angelo Acerbi (Sesta Godano, 23 September 1925) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who has been an archbishop since 1974 and served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as the Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand, the Netherlands, Colombia, Hungary, and Moldova.

His Excellency

Angelo Acerbi
Apostolic Nuncio
Orders
Ordination27 March 1948
Consecration30 June 1974
by Pope Paul VI
Personal details
Born (1925-09-23) 23 September 1925
Sesta Godano, Italy
NationalityItalian
Coat of arms
Styles of
Angelo Acerbi
Reference styleHis Excellency
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleExcellence

Biography

Angelo Acerbi was born in Sesta Godano on 23 September 1925. On 27 March 1948, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of La Spezia.[1]

After earning a degree in canon law, he obtained his license in theology. Having completed the course of study at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1954,[2] he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

He worked in the nunciatures in Colombia, Brazil, Japan and France, as well as in the International Relations Department of the Holy See's Secretariat of State.[1]

On 22 June 1974, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Zella in Tunisia, and apostolic pronuncio in New Zealand and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean.[3] He received the episcopal ordination on 30 June from Pope Paul, co-consecrators archbishops Giovanni Benelli, deputy for the General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, and Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On 6 February 1979, he was named Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Fiji as well.[4]

On 14 August 1979 Pope John Paul II appointed him apostolic nuncio to Colombia.[5] In the following February, Acerbi was hostage with 26 other presidents, many of whom belonged to various countries' diplomacy during an assault on the Embassy of the Dominican Republic, put in place by the communist guerrillas of 19 April Movement. The period of imprisonment lasted several weeks, during which Acerbi was allowed to celebrate Mass.[6]

On 28 March 1990, he was transferred to Hungary,[7] the first apostolic nuncio to be named after the establishment of Communism in that country. During Acerbi's diplomatic assignment in Hungary, the Holy See concluded an agreement with the Republic of Hungary on religious assistance to the Armed Forces and the Border Police[8] and prepared another relating to the financing of public and other purely religious activities carried out by the Catholic Church in Hungary, in particular the financing of educational activities, which was signed shortly after the end of Acerbi's tenure in Hungary. On 13 January 1994 he was also appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Moldova.[9] On 8 February 1997 he was transferred to the nunciature in the Netherlands.[10] On 27 February 2001, Pope John Paul II accepted his resignation.

On 2 June 2001, Pope John Paul named Acerbi to two curial positions, member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and member of the council of cardinals and bishops for the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.[11] On 4 April 2002, the pope added membership in the Congregation for Bishops.[12]

On 21 June 2001, he was appointed prelate of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, tasked with overseeing the priestly life of its chaplains and assisting the Order's leaders in promoting the religious observance of its members. On 21 January 2006, Acerbi denounced the comments published in the Italian weekly Panorama a month earlier,[13] which said that Acerbi was leading a faction of young adherents of the Order dissatisfied its failure to emphasize its Christian identity.[14] On 4 July 2015, Pope Francis appointed a new prelate, Monsignor Jean Laffitte.[15]

References
  1. "Appointment of the new prelate of the Order of Malta, he Rt. Rev. Mgr. Angelo Acerbi". Order of Malta (Press release). 26 June 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  2. "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica" (in Italian). Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  3. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXVI. 1974. p. 365, 459. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  4. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXI. 1979. p. 385. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  5. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXI. 1979. p. 1056. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  6. Colombian terrorists wow Teheran-like siege, articolo su The Day del 2 aprile 1980, vedi.
  7. "Intervento del Segretario per i Rapporti con gli Stati ..." (in Italian). 12 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2019. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "Accordi bilaterali vigenti della Santa Sede". iuscangreg.it. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  9. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXXVI. 1994. p. 207. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  10. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXXIX. 1997. p. 207. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  11. "Rinunce e Nomine, 02.06.2001" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 2 June 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  12. "Rinunce e Nomine, 04.04.2002" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 April 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  13. "Unfounded Comments". The Malta Independent. 22 January 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  14. "Italian Magazine claims there is much 'disorder' in the Order". The Malta Independent. 8 January 2006.
  15. "Rinunce e Nomine, 04.07.2015" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.