Gaetano Bedini
Encyclopedia
Biography
Bedini was born in SenigalliaSenigallia
Senigallia is a comune and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast, 25 km by rail north of Ancona, in the Marche region, province of Ancona....
into the peasant Bedini family of Ostra
Ostra (AN)
Ostra is a town and comune in the Marche, central Italy, near the modern Ostra Vetere, south-east of Senigallia.The original name of the town was Montalboddo. In 1881 the name was changed to Ostra, like the ancient Roman city located near the modern town of Ostra.-Geography:Ostra lies on a hill...
, the son of Alessandro Pellegrino and Marianna Spadoni.
Last of 7 sons, Bedini was destined by his father to be a priest. He entered the seminary at Senigallia and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on 20 December 1828 by Cardinal Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata. In the following years he became canon of the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of Senigallia (1829–1838).
Thanks to influential friends, including Giovanni Mastai Ferretti (the future Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
, also native of Senigallia), he dedicated himself to politics. He was secretary of Lodovico Altieri
Lodovico Altieri
Lodovico Altieri was an Italian Cardinal and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.-Biography:Lodovico Altieri was born as the son of Paluzzo Altieri and Maria Anna di Sassonia in Rome. He was ordained on 24 March 1833. He was created a Privy chamberlainby Pope Leo XII...
, archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
and nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
from 1838 to 1845. When Lodovico Altieri was named cardinal, Bedini gained exposure to the diplomatic atmosphere, and he was subsequently called to 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...
as Papal Chamberlain of Gregorius XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
and the Protonotary apostolic
Protonotary apostolic
In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside of Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pope has conferred this title and its special privileges.-History:In later antiquity there were in...
.
Apostolic nunziatura in Brazil
The first important assignment received by Bedini was that of Internuncio in BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, from 28 October 1845 to 16 August 1847. He worked for the improvement of the living conditions of German immigrants and supported Catholicism against the Protestant proselytism. His work led the Chamber of Deputies of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
to improve the living conditions of the German immigrants.
Contacts with Garibaldi
Giuseppe GaribaldiGiuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
, who was also living in South America at the time, wrote a famous letter to Bedini in 1847 in which he declared “to offer to Pius IX its sword and the Italian legion for the native land and the church” remembering “the garnishments of our August religion, always new and always immortal” knowing that “the throne of Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
rests over such foundations that don't need aid, because the human forces cannot shake them”. Bedini replied thanking him, but the offer to Rome of the legion 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...
was never received.
Roman Republic and legation in Bologna
Returning to RomeRome
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...
in March 1848, Bedini replaced the Cardinal Secretary of State
Cardinal Secretary of State
The Cardinal Secretary of State—officially Secretary of State of His Holiness The Pope—presides over the Holy See, usually known as the "Vatican", Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia...
Giacomo Antonelli
Giacomo Antonelli
Giacomo Antonelli was an Italian cardinal deacon. He was the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1848 until his death; he played a key role in Italian politics, resisting the unification of Italy and affecting Roman Catholic interests in European affairs...
, from 10 March 1848 until November 1848 following Pius IX when he was forced into exile in Gaeta, by the Roman Republic (1849) revolution in Rome.
Once the Pope had recovered his temporal power, Bedini continued his job of Papal Nuncio/commissioner in the Legations and ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
from 1849 to 1852. Just at the beginning of that period, Ugo Bassi
Ugo Bassi
Ugo Bassi was a Roman Catholic priest and Italian nationalist.-Biography:Bassi was born at Cento, Emilia-Romagna, and received his early education at Bologna....
was captured at Comacchio
Comacchio
Comacchio is a town and comune of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, 48 km from the provincial capital Ferrara.-Geography:...
and executed on 8 August 1849 in Bologna by the Austrians. Many patriots accused Bedini of nonintervention in order to save himself.
In his position at Bologna, however, he restored the Palace of Accursio with the restyling of Sala Urbana and the construction of the Aula Piana, he adopted provisions for the unemployed, favoured commerce with the construction of new roads, promoted agriculture and restored important artistic monuments like the Villa S. Michele in Foresta.
Apostolic Nunciatura in USA
On 15 March 1852 he was named ArchbishopArchbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
and three days after Apostolic Nuncio in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Once he received the archiepiscopal order on 4 July 1852 from cardinal Luigi Lambruschini
Luigi Lambruschini
Luigi Lambruschini was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in the mid nineteenth century.-Biography:...
, he decided to leave for Brazil, but he could not enter in the country because of a plague epidemic so he went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was the first Papal Nuncio in the United States.
He arrived in New York on 30 June 1852. For a series of particular coincidences he became the target of attacks by the more extremist Protestants and anti-Catholics currents.
His visit triggered the Cincinnati Riot of 1853
Cincinnati Riot of 1853
The Cincinnati Riot of 1853 was triggered by the visit of Cardinal Gaetano Bedini, the emissary of Pope Pius IX, to Cincinnati, Ohio, USA on 21 December 1853....
in which several hundred men marched in protest against his visit.
While travelling, Bedini met the president of the United States, Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
, to whom he delivered a letter from the Holy Father, and the American Secretary of State William L. Marcy
William L. Marcy
William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...
. He ordained moreover some new bishops amongst whom was James Roosevelt Bayley
James Roosevelt Bayley
James Roosevelt Bayley was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Bishop of Newark and the eighth Archbishop of Baltimore .-Early life and education:...
archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, John Loughlin
John Loughlin (bishop)
John Loughlin was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Brooklyn, New York .-References:...
bishop of the diocese of Brooklyn and Louis De Goesbriand
Louis De Goesbriand
Louis Joseph Mary Theodore De Goesbriand was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Burlington in the United States from 1853 until his death in 1899.-Early career:...
bishop of the diocese of Burlington. After finishing the long journey that included also New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pittsburgh, Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and Philadelphia, he returned to Rome from New Orleans in January 1854.
Job in Curia
After returning to Italy he worked more intensely in the Roman CuriaRoman 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...
. On 20 June 1856 he was named General Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Propaganda of the Faith
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...
. He also initiated some plans like the constitution of the North American College
Pontifical North American College
The Pontifical North American College is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy educating seminarians for the dioceses in the United States and providing a residence for American priests studying in Rome. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX and was granted pontifical...
to Rome that with his aid had bought a building in Humility Street on 22 September 1858. After having resolved all the bureaucratic problems he celebrated the inauguration of this institute on 8 December 1859.
See also
- SenigalliaSenigalliaSenigallia is a comune and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast, 25 km by rail north of Ancona, in the Marche region, province of Ancona....
- Giuseppe GaribaldiGiuseppe GaribaldiGiuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
- BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
- Santa Maria sopra MinervaSanta Maria sopra MinervaThe Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
- ViterboViterboSee also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...