Mario Giardini

Mario Giardini (4 December 1877 – 30 August 1947) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1918 to 1933.

Biography

Mario Giardini was born on 4 December 1877 in Milan. He was ordained a priest on 24 September 1904.^{[citation needed]} He was a member of the Barnabites and early in his career worked as a parish priest and master of novices for his order.^[1]

On 21 November 1921, Pope Pius XI named him titular archbishop of Edessa and Apostolic Delegate to Japan.^[2] He received his episcopal consecration on 8 December 1921 from Cardinal Andrea Carlo Ferrari.^{[citation needed]} He called a provincial synod to address the question of Catholic participation in Shinto ceremonies and the first Japanese bishop, Januarius Kyunosuke Hayasaka, was appointed in 1926. Both were steps in the local hierarchy gaining its independence from the Paris Foreign Missions Society.^[3] Negotiations toward the establishment of diplomatic relations made progress but were blocked by Buddhist opposition in parliament.^[4] When his successor, Edward Mooney, was appointed on 30 March 1931, Giardino remained in Japan until Mooney arrived from India and then remained for ten days to share information.^[5]

On 16 May 1931, Pope Pius XI appointed him Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo.^[6][a] He retired from this position on 5 February 1940.^[b] He continued to work reviewing clergy for the Vicariate of Rome.^[9]

He died on 30 August 1947 at the age of 69.^[10]

Notes

1. One study of fascist activity in Ancona in the 1930s describes Guardini as "weak and accommodating" (debole e accomodante).^[7]
2. He was named titular archbishop of Laodicea in Syria on 5 February 1940, standard procedure at the time for retiring ordinaries.^[8]

References

1. "Menologion - August". Barnabites. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
2. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XIII. 1921. p. 524, 542, 565. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
3. DuBois, Thomas David (2016). Empire and the Meaning of Religion in Northeast Asia: Manchuria 1900–1945. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 12 May 2020.^{[page needed]}
4. Pottaz, Pascal; Radao, Florentino (2018). "The Vatican, World War II, and Asia: Lessons of Neutral Diplomacy". In Lottaz, Pascal; Reginbogin, Herbert R. (eds.). Notions of Neutralities. Lexington Books. p. 224. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
5. Gallagher, Charles R. (2008). Vatican Secret Diplomacy: Joseph P. Hurley and Pope Pius XII. Yale University Press. p. 33. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
6. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XXIII. 1931. p. 234. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
7. Sori, Ercole (2017). Ancona 1922 - 1940. Dall'avvento del fascismo all'entrata in guerra (in Italian). Bookstones. Retrieved 12 May 2020.^{[page needed]}
8. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XXXII. 1940. p. 53, 106. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
9. Costantini, Celso (2014). The Secrets of a Vatican Cardinal: Celso Costantini's Wartime Diaries, 1938-1947. McGill–Queen's Press. Retrieved 12 May 2020.^{[page needed]}
10. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XXXIX. 1947. p. 424. Retrieved 10 May 2020.

External links

• Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Mario Giardini ^{[self-published]}