Alfonso Castaldo
Encyclopedia
Alfonso Castaldo was an Italian
Cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Archbishop of Naples from 1958 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1958.
to Aniello Castaldo (d. circa 1897) and Marianna Crispino. The third of five children, he was baptized
in his home four days later, on November 10, by his paternal uncle, who was a canon
by the same name, with the permission of the Naples
curia
. Castaldo, influenced by Monsignor Francesco Morano
and Father Luigi Maglione, decided to pursue a career in the Church, and attended the seminaries
in Cerreto Sannita
, Pozzuoli
, and Naples. He also studied philosophy
and letters at the University of Naples
.
Ordained
a priest
by Bishop Angelo Jannacchino on June 8, 1913, Castaldo served as a chaplain
to the Italian Army
(1915–1918), and a provost
in Casoria (1918–1934). On March 27, 1934, he was appointed Bishop of Pozzuoli by Pope Pius XI
. Castaldo received his episcopal consecration
on the following June 30 from Cardinal Alessio Ascalesi
, CPPS
, with Bishops Salvatore del Bene and Salvatore Meo serving as co-consecrators
.
Pope Pius XII
named him Coadjutor Archbishop
of Naples, Titular Archbishop
of Thessalonica, and Apostolic Administrator
of Pozzuoli on January 14, 1950. Castaldo became Archbishop of Naples on February 7, 1958, and was created Cardinal Priest
of S. Callisto
by Pope John XXIII
in the consistory
of December 15 of that same year. On the following August 5, he was named Bishop ad personam of Pozzuoli.
The Cardinal attended the Second Vatican Council
from 1962 to 1965, and was one of the electors
who participated in the 1963 papal conclave
, which selected Pope Paul VI
. He was highly revered by the people of Naples, and was very involved in welfare, charitable
, and educational
activities.
Castaldo died in his archiepiscopal residence in Naples at age 75. He is buried in the Succorpo Chapel
in the Cathedral of Naples
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Archbishop of Naples from 1958 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 1958.
Biography
Alfonso Castaldo was born in CasoriaCasoria
Casoria is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 9 km northeast of Naples.Casoria borders the following municipalities: Afragola, Arzano, Cardito, Casalnuovo di Napoli, Casavatore, Frattamaggiore, Naples, Volla.-History:The name of Casoria is...
to Aniello Castaldo (d. circa 1897) and Marianna Crispino. The third of five children, he was baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in his home four days later, on November 10, by his paternal uncle, who was a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
by the same name, with the permission of the Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
curia
Curia (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholicism, a curia consists of a group of officials who assist in the governance of a particular Church. These curias range from the relatively simple diocesan curia, to the larger patriarchal curias, to the Roman Curia, which is the central government of the Catholic Church.Other...
. Castaldo, influenced by Monsignor Francesco Morano
Francesco Morano
Francesco Morano was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Secretary of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia from 1935 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1959.- Biography :Born in Caivano, Province of Naples, Francesco Morano attended the...
and Father Luigi Maglione, decided to pursue a career in the Church, and attended the seminaries
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in Cerreto Sannita
Cerreto Sannita
Cerreto Sannita is a comune in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 60 km northeast of Naples and about 25 km northwest of Benevento...
, Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli is a city and comune of the province of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean peninsula.-History:Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of Dicaearchia...
, and Naples. He also studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and letters at the University of Naples
University of Naples Federico II
The University of Naples Federico II is a university located in Naples, Italy. It was founded in 1224 and is organized into 13 faculties. It is the world's oldest state university and one of the oldest academic institutions in continuous operation...
.
Ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Bishop Angelo Jannacchino on June 8, 1913, Castaldo served as a chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
to the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
(1915–1918), and a provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
in Casoria (1918–1934). On March 27, 1934, he was appointed Bishop of Pozzuoli by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
. Castaldo received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following June 30 from Cardinal Alessio Ascalesi
Alessio Ascalesi
Alessio Ascalesi was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Naples.-Biography:Ascalesi was born in Casalnuovo, near Naples. He joined the priesthood and entered the Seminary of Spoleto. He was ordained on 8 June 1895. He joined the Congregation of the Most Precious Blood...
, CPPS
Missionaries of the Precious Blood
The Missionaries of the Precious Blood form a community of priests and brothers within the Latin Church, one of the 23 sui iuris churches which make up the universal Catholic Church. The Society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815...
, with Bishops Salvatore del Bene and Salvatore Meo serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
named him Coadjutor Archbishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
of Naples, Titular Archbishop
Titular bishop
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 Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Thessalonica, and Apostolic Administrator
Apostolic Administrator
An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
of Pozzuoli on January 14, 1950. Castaldo became Archbishop of Naples on February 7, 1958, and was created Cardinal Priest
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of S. Callisto
San Callisto
San Callisto is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, Italy, built over the site of Saint Pope Callistus I and the location of his martyrdom. The original building dates form the time of Pope Gregory III who order the building of a church on the site. The church has been rebuilt twice since,...
by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of December 15 of that same year. On the following August 5, he was named Bishop ad personam of Pozzuoli.
The Cardinal attended the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
from 1962 to 1965, and was one of the electors
Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1963
The following were the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically . Only two out of the eighty electors did not participate in the conclave: József Mindszenty The following were the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave. Arranged by...
who participated in the 1963 papal conclave
Papal conclave, 1963
The Papal conclave of 1963 was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on June 3 of that same year in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on June 19 and ended two days later, on June 21, after six ballots. The...
, which selected Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
. He was highly revered by the people of Naples, and was very involved in welfare, charitable
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
, and educational
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
activities.
Castaldo died in his archiepiscopal residence in Naples at age 75. He is buried in the Succorpo Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
in the Cathedral of Naples
Cathedral of Naples
Naples Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cattedrale di San Gennaro, in honour of Saint Januarius, the city's patron saint, but is actually dedicated to the Assumption of the...
.