Cesare Zerba
Encyclopedia
Cesare Zerba was an Italian
cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Secretary
of the Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments
in the Roman Curia
from 1958 to 1965, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1965.
, and studied at the seminaries
in Stazzano
and Tortona
, the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare
in Rome
, and the University of Pavia
. Ordained
to the priesthood
on July 4, 1915, he then served as a military chaplain
during World War I
. Zerba began pastoral
work in Rome from 1919, also working as an official of Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments
in the Roman Curia
from 1924 to 1939.
He was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness
on June 30, 1932, and later a Domestic Prelate of His Holiness
and prelate
of the Apostolic Signatura
on April 23, 1939. Within the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, Zerba was made Undersecretary
(May 5, 1939) and Secretary
(December 18, 1958).
On August 28, 1962, Zerba was appointed Titular Archbishop
of Colossae by Pope John XXIII
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following September 21 from Pope John himself, with Archbishops Francesco Carpino
and Pietro Parente
serving as co-consecrators
, in the Lateran Basilica
. From 1962 to 1965, Zerba attended the Second Vatican Council
.
Pope Paul VI
created him Cardinal Priest
of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore
in the consistory
of February 22, 1965. Zerba resigned as Secretary of Discipline of the Sacraments on January 26, 1965, after six years of service. Never having the opportunity to participate in a papal conclave
, the Cardinal lost the right to do so upon reaching the age of 80 on April 15, 1972.
Zerba died in Rome, at age 81. He is buried in his native Castelnuovo Scrivia.
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 Secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
of the Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...
in the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
from 1958 to 1965, 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 1965.
Biography
Cesare Zerba was born in Castelnuovo ScriviaCastelnuovo Scrivia
Castelnuovo Scrivia is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km east of Turin and about 20 km northeast of Alessandria.-History:...
, and studied at 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 Stazzano
Stazzano
Stazzano is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km southeast of Alessandria...
and Tortona
Tortona
Tortona is a comune of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines.-History:...
, the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare
Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare
Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare was a university named after Saint Apollinaris. Notable people who have attended include:*Alfredo Ottaviani*Amleto Giovanni Cicognani*Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant*Benedetto Aloisi Masella*Gustavo Testa...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and the University of Pavia
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. It was founded in 1361 and is organized in 9 Faculties.-History:...
. 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....
to the priesthood
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....
on July 4, 1915, he then served as a military 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...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Zerba began pastoral
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
work in Rome from 1919, also working as an official of Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...
in the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
from 1924 to 1939.
He was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness
Chaplain of His Holiness
A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges, such as regards ecclesiastical dress....
on June 30, 1932, and later a Domestic Prelate of His Holiness
Honorary Prelate
An Honorary Prelate of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards ecclesiastical dress...
and prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Apostolic Signatura
Apostolic Signatura
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church...
on April 23, 1939. Within the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, Zerba was made Undersecretary
Undersecretary
An under secretary is an executive government official in many countries, frequently a career public servant, who typically acts as a senior administrator or second-in-command to a politically-appointed Cabinet Minister or other government official...
(May 5, 1939) and Secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
(December 18, 1958).
On August 28, 1962, Zerba was appointed 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 Colossae 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...
. He 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 September 21 from Pope John himself, with Archbishops Francesco Carpino
Francesco Carpino
Francesco Carpino S.T.D. was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Palermo.He was born in Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily, Italy as the third of five children of Salvatore Carpino, who was the owner of a small rural estate. He was educated at the Seminary of Noto from 1914 to 1919...
and Pietro Parente
Pietro Parente
Pietro Parente was a long-serving theologian and inquisitor in the Holy Office of the Roman Catholic Church, and was made a cardinal on June 26, 1967...
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...
, in the Lateran Basilica
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...
. From 1962 to 1965, Zerba 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...
.
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...
created him 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 Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore
Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore
Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in Rome's Piazza Navona.- History :...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of February 22, 1965. Zerba resigned as Secretary of Discipline of the Sacraments on January 26, 1965, after six years of service. Never having the opportunity to participate in a papal conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
, the Cardinal lost the right to do so upon reaching the age of 80 on April 15, 1972.
Zerba died in Rome, at age 81. He is buried in his native Castelnuovo Scrivia.