Birth. November 12, 1863, Mogliano, archdiocese of Fermo, Papal States (now Italy). From a noble family. Son of Professor Luigi Tacci and Maria Monti Guarnieri. Received the sacrament of confirmation, December 22, 1871. His last name is also listed as Tacci Porcelli.

Education. Received his initial education from his father; then, he was sent to the Seminary of Tolentino, where he studied until 1881; later, he attended the Pontifical Roman Seminary, Rome, where he obtained doctorates in theology in 1887; and in utroque iure, both canon and civil law in 1889; on November 12, 1885, he entered the Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles, Rome, where he studied diplomacy.

Priesthood. Ordained, September 18, 1886, Fermo (1). Pastoral ministry in Fermo and Rome, 1886-1895. Domestic prelate of His Holiness. Abbreviatore di parco maggiore. Dean of the Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles. Member of the Commission of Pontifical Schools. Ecclesiasticus of several monasteries.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Città della Pieve, March 18, 1895. Consecrated, May 5, 1895, cathedral of Fermo, by Cardinal Amilcare Malagola, archbishop of Fermo, assisted by Luigi Bonetti, bishop of Montalto, and by Roberto Papiri, bishop of Macerata e Tolentino. Apostolic delegate in Constantinople, for Eastern-rite Catholics, and patriarch vicar for Latin-rite Catholics, December 19, 1904. Promoted to the titular archbishop of Nicea, retaining the administration of the diocese of Città della Pieve ad beneplacitum of His Holiness and the Apostolic See, March 10, 1905 (2). Nuncio to Belgium, December 31, 1907. Internuncio to Holland, March 18, 1911. Prefect of the Pontifical Domus, December 8, 1916. Prefect of the Sacred Apostolic Palace, October 30, 1918.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of June 13, 1921; received the red hat and the title of S. Maria in Trastevere, June 16, 1921. Ascribed to the SS. CC. of the Council, Ceremonial, Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Oriental Church (June 16, 1921), and Propaganda Fide (September 18, 1922). Protector of the Sisters of the Christian Schools of Mercy of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte (July 5, 1921); of the Sisters of Christian Education (July 14, 1921); of the Sisters of the Providence of Portieux (August 8, 1921); and of the Pious Mothers of Ovada (April 20, 1923). Papal legate to the bicentennial celebration of the coronation of Our Lady of Mercy, Macerata, Italy, September 4, 1921. Participated in the conclave of 1922, which elected Pope Pius XI (3). Secretary of the S.C. for the Oriental Church, August 8, 1922 to January 29, 1927. On September 10, 1922, he and Cardinal Vittorio Amedeo Ranuzzi de' Bianchi became the first cardinals to fly; boarding a Caproni machine flown by Colonel Armando Armani, they went to Loreto in order to attend a meeting in honor of Our Lady of Loreto, patroness of aviators. Papal legate to the celebration in honor of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine Postel, Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, Coutances, France, July 22, 1925.

Death. June 30, 1928, Rome. Buried in the sepulchre of the S.C. for the Propagation of the Faith, Campo Verano cemetery, Rome.

Bibliography. Del Re, Niccolò. "Giovanni Tacci" in La Sacra Congregazione per le Chiese Orientali. Nel cinquantesimo della fondazione (1917-1967). Grottaferrata, Roma : Tipografia Italo-Orientale "San Nilo", 1969, p. 84-86; "Em. Tacci, Jean", in "Liste des cardinaux par order alphabétique." Annuaire Pontifical Catholique de 1924. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1924, p. 125; Pięta, Zenonem. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen IX (1903-1922). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 2002, pp. 19, 24 and 270; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen VIII (1846-1903). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1979, p. 207.

Webgraphy. His episcopal lineage by Charles N. Bransom, Jr., in English, Apostolic Succession & Episcopal Lineages in the Roman Catholic Church; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to Del Re, "Giovanni Tacci" in La Sacra Congregazione per le Chiese Orientali. Nel cinquantesimo della fondazione (1917-1967), p. 85; and Ritzler, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, VIII, 207. "Em. Tacci, Jean", in "Liste des cardinaux par order alphabétique." Annuaire Pontifical Catholique de 1924, p. 125, says that he was ordained on September 19, 1886.
(2) This is according to Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, IX, 270; the same source, VIII, 207, indicates that he was promoted on December 17, 1904.
(3) It was erroneously indicated by some journals, including “Il Mondo”, that he had been elected to the papacy in 1922 rather than Cardinal Achille Ratti, who became Pope Pius XI.

Birth. May 31, 1857, Desio, archdiocese of Milan, Italy. Son of Francesco Ratti and Teresa Galli. Baptized on June 1, 1857, he received the name Achille Ambrogio Damiano. He had a paternal uncle, Father Damiano, and a cousin, Msgr. Rodolfo, who were also diocesan priests.

Education. Studied at the Minor Seminary of S. Pietro Martire, Seveso, 1867; at the Seminary of Milan, Monza; at the Theological Seminary of Milan; at the Lombard Seminary, Rome; at La Sapienza University, Rome (doctorate in theology); at the Ambrosian Library, Milan; at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome (doctorate in canon law); and at the Pontifical Roman Academy of S. Tommaso d'Aquino, Rome (doctorate in philosophy).

Priesthood. Ordained, December 20, 1879, Rome. Further studies, Rome, 1879-1882. Returned to Milan in 1882 and was, simultaneously, professor of theology at the Seminary of S. Pietro Martire, and of sacred eloquence and Hebrew at the Theological Seminary of Milan. Staff member of the Ambrosian Library, 1888-1907; prefect, 1907-1911. In 1893, he was named ablegato to deliver the red biretta to the two new Cardinals Victor-Lucien-Sulpice Lécot and Joseph-Chrétien-Ernest Bourret of France. Domestic prelate of His Holiness, March 6, 1907. Pro-prefect of the Vatican Library, February 20, 1912; prefect, August 20, 1914. Canon of the patriarchal Vatican basilica, September 14, 1914. Protonotary apostolic supra numerum, October 28, 1914. Apostolic visitor to Poland and Lithuania, April 25, 1918. Nuncio in Poland, June 6, 1919.

Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Lepanto (1), July 3, 1919. Consecrated, October 28, 1919, cathedral of Warsaw, by Aleksander Kakowski, archbishop of Warsaw, assisted by Józef Sebastian Pelczar, bishop of Przemyśl of the Latins, and by Stanisław Kazimierz Zdzitowiecki, bishop of Włocławek. Transferred to the titular see of Adana, April 29, 1921.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of June 13, 1921; received the red hat and the title of Ss. Silvestro e Martino ai Monti, June 16, 1921. Transferred to metropolitan see of Milan, June 13, 1921. Participated in the conclave of 1922 and was elected pope.

Papacy. Elected, February 6, 1922; took the name Pius XI. Crowned, February 12, 1922, Vatican, by Cardinal Gaetano Bisleti, protodeacon of S. Agata in Suburra. He created seventy six cardinals in seventeen consistories.

Death. February 10, 1939, at 5:31 a.m., in Vatican City. Buried on February 14, 1939 in the grotto of the patriarchal Vatican basilica.

Bibliography.
-Anderson, Robin. Between two wars. The Story of Pope Pius XI (Achille Ratti) 1922-1939. Chicago : Franciscan Herald, 1977;
-Aradi, Zsolt. Pius XI. The pope and the man. New York : Hanover House, 1958;
-Cazzani, Eugenio. Vescovi e arcivescovi di Milano. Nuova ed./ a cura di Angelo Majo, 2. ed. Milano : Massimo : NED, 1996. Note: Originally published 1955, now enlarged and updated, p. 284-287;
-Chiron, Yves. Pie XI : 1857-1939. Paris : Perrin, 2004;
-Chiron, Yves. Pie IX, pape moderne. Bitche : Clovis, 1995;
-Confalonieri, Carlo. Pio XI visto da vicino. Nuova ed. Cinisello Balsamo : Edizioni Paoline, 1993. (Grande biografie ; 2);v -Dailey, Edward Vincent. Pius XI, pope of the people. Chicago : Photopress, Inc., 1937. Note: "First published in the 'Chicago evening American'." Preface by His Excellency the Most Reverend Amleto Cicognani;
-I Diari di Achille Ratti. I, Visitatore apostolico in Polonia (1918-1919). A cura di Sergio Pagano e Gianni Venditti. Città del Vaticano : Archivio Segreto Vaticano, 2013;
-I Diari di Achille Ratti. II, Nunzio apostolico in Polonia (1919-1920). A cura di Gianni Venditti. Città del Vaticano : Archivio Segreto Vaticano, 2015;
-Eisner, Peter. The Pope's last crusade : how an American Jesuit helped Pope Pius XI's campaign to stop Hitler. New York, NY : William Morrow, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2013;
-Falconi, Carlo. The Popes in the twentieth century, from Pius X to John XXIII. Boston : Little, Brown, 1968, ©1967. Translation of I papi del ventesimo secolo. Translated from the Italian by Muriel Grindrod;
-Fattorini, Emma. Pio XI, Hitler e Mussolini. La solitudine di un Papa. Turin : Einaudi, 2007;
-Fontenelle, René. His Holiness Pope Pius XI. London : Catholic Book Club, 1939. Ttranslated from the French by Mary E. Fowler ; with a new preface by C.C. Martindale;
-Le gouvernement pontifical sous Pie XI. Pratiques romaines et gestion de l'universel. Études réunies par Laura Pettinaroli. Rome : École française de Rome, 2013. (Collection de l'École française de Rome, 467);
-Hughes, Philip. Pope Pius the Eleventh. London : Sheed & Ward, 1938;
-Majo, Angelo. Storia della chiesa ambrosiana. 5 vols. 2nd ed. Milano : NED, 1983-1986, IV, 26, 72, 127, 147, 171, 172 and 174;
-Margiotta Broglio, Francesco. "Pio XI." Enciclopedia dei papi. 3 vols. Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 2000, III, 617-632;
-Novelli, Angelo. The life of Pius XI. Translated by Pasquale Thomas Lombardo. Yonkers, N.Y., Mt. Carmel Press, 1925. Note: With the addition of two new chapters: "Pius XI and America" and "The Holy year";
-La sollecitudine ecclesiale di Pio XI : alla luce delle nuove fonti archivistiche : atti del convegno internazionale di studio, Città del Vaticano, 26-28 febbraio 2009. A cura di Cosimo Semeraro. Città del Vaticano, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010. (Atti e documenti ; 31);
-Teeling, William. Pope Pius xi and world affairs. New York : Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1937;
-Williamson, Benedict. The story of Pope Pius XI. New York : P.J. Kenedy, 1931.

Webgraphy. Photograph and biography, in English, Encyclopaedia Britannica; photograph and arms, The Vatican; biography by Francesco Margiotta Broglio, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 84 (2015), Treccani; portrait and biography, in Italian, cronologia leonardo; his episcopal lineage by Charles N. Bransom, Jr., in English, Apostolic Succession & Episcopal Lineages in the Roman Catholic Church; his portrait, Menzies Virtual Museum; his photograph, Orbis Enterprise; portrait with the papal tiara Hawaii OnLine; close-up photograph, Ratti Family; his monument by Pietro Canonica, Lateran Palace, Rome; detail of the monument, from the same source; commemorative postal stamp, Vatican City; Serie cronologica dei vescovi di Milano (III-XXI secolo), in Italian, archdiocese of Milan; Pius XI, Pope of Challenges by Andrea Tornielli, in Italia, Vatican Insider, 04/26/2011; Il giallo dell'enciclica antinazista by Marco Roncalli, Avvenire, 17 ottobre 2013; Cracking the Vatican's culture of opacity on clerical crimes by Kieran Tapsell, Sydney, ucanews, February 6, 2014; Pio XI e l'idea di Chiesa moderna by Gianfranco Ravasi, Avvenire, 8 febbraio 2014; Delusioni e speranze di un nunzio. I diari polacchi del futuro Pio XI, L'Osservatore Romano, 01 aprile 2016; Quella condanna che nessuno ricorda. Pio XI e il mito storiografico della benedizione dell'attacco italiano all'Etiopia, L'Osservatore Romano, 02 aprile 2016; Studiando da Papa. Achille Ratti in Polonia dopo la prima guerra mondiale by Gianpaolo Romanato, L'Osservatore Romano, 30 maggio 2016; Censurato dagli uni e dagli altri. Il 14 settembre 1936 Pio XI parlò a tutta la Spagna by Vicente Cárcel Ortí, L'Osservatore Romano, 13 settembre 2016; La Pasqua delle tre encicliche. Nel marzo 1937 uscirono i tre documenti sul comunismo, sul nazismo e sul laicismo messicano by Paolo Valvo, L'Osservatore Romano, 14 marzo 2017; Pius XI, Saint Joseph, and Joseph Stalin by Michael J. Nader, The Catholic World Report, March 19, 2017; The Amazing Story of the Most Daring Papal Encyclical Ever Delivered by Kevin Knight, National Catholic Register, May 15, 2017; Pio XI e il prete operaio. Suore e sacerdoti spagnoli in fuga dalla guerra civile verso Roma by Vicente Carcel Orti, L'Osservatore Romano, 09 giugno 2017; Ascoltare la voce del Papa. Per la storia della Radio Vaticana by Andrea Possieri, L'Osservatore Romano, 18 settembre 2017; Pio XI e il suo tempo, L'Osservatore Romano, 20 ottobre 2017; Uno di famiglia. La morte di Pio XI (10 febbraio 1939) nei ricordi di Ester e Bernardino Nogara by Bernardino Osio, L'Osservatore Romano, 09 febbraio 2018; Il ritorno sulla scena internazionale. Achille Ratti secondo Marcel Launay by Paolo Vian, L'Osservatore Romano, 09 febbraio 2018; Un día como hoy Pío XI inauguró Radio Vaticano de la mano de Marconi by Walter Sánchez Silva, ACI Prensa, 12 de febrero de 2018 9:31 am, with video; Who Knows? The Truth About Pope Pius XI and His Much-Maligned Successor by Roseanne T. Sullivan, Homiletic & Pastoral Review, February 24, 2018; Il presente è nelle mani dei farabutti. A ottant’anni dall’Anschluss by Paolo Valvo, L'Osservatore Romano, 12 marzo 2018; Pie XI, un Pape au cœur de la montée de tous les périls by Marguerite Pradère, Aleteia, 10 mai 2018; Benedict XV and Pius XI — the Popes Who Would Not Be Saints by Kevin Di Camillo, National Catholic Register, Aug. 23, 2018; Chiesa e leggi razziali: dalle parole di Pio XI a quelle di Schuster by Andrea Tornielli, Vatican Insider, Città del Vaticano, 09/11/2018; Quando Achille Ratti era nunzio in Polonia, L'Osservatore Romano, 06 giugno 2019; Polonia, il sostituto Peña Parra inaugura una statua di Achille Ratti nella Nunziatura, Vatican Insider, 06/06/2019 alle ore 17:23; Pio XI, un Pontefice vicino al mondo rurale. Centoquarant’anni fa l’ordinazione sacerdotale di Achille Ratti by Fernando Chica Arellano, L'Osservatore Romano, 18 dicembre 2019; La voce calda di un papa missionario by Iacopo Scaramuzzi, Il Sismografo, venerdì 20 dicembre 2019; Österreich: Bischofs-Berichte an Papst Pius XI. jetzt online, Vatican News, 07 Juli 2020, 09:49; Scontro frontale tra Pio XI e Mussolini by Sergio Valzania, L'Osservatore Romano, 29 agosto 2020; La Divina Commedia sempre sullo scrittoio. Titolo della rubrica - Dante e i Papi. Il dantismo ermeneutico di Pio XI by Gabriella M. Di Paola Dollorenzo, L'Osservatore Romano, 16 ottobre 2020; Un Portone per aprire i tesori dei pontefici. La storia dell’ingresso monumentale voluto dal papa Pio XI by Barbara Jatta, Il Sole 24 Ore, 14 dicembre 2020; La bellezza del sacerdozio dono per la Chiesa e il mondo. Il 20 dicembre 1935 l’enciclica «Ad catholici sacerdotii» di Pio XI by Andrea Ripa, Sottosegretario della Congregazione per il clero, L'Osservatore Romano, 19 dicembre 2020; Locals remember Kurd awarded medal by Pope Pius XI for protecting Armenians fleeing genocide by Yousif Musa, translated by Zhelwan Z. Wali, Rudaw Net, Zakwo Kurdistan Region, 3/6/2021; Historias de los papas: cuando Pío XI murió en la víspera de boicotear a Mussolini by Miguel Ángel Malavia, Vida Nueva Digital, 29/03/2021; Catholic Social Doctrine Linked by Encyclicals Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno by V. Bradley Lewis, National Catholic Register, May 16, 2021; 100 anni fa Benedetto XVV creò cardinal Achille Rati (poi Papa Pio XI), Il Sismografo, domenica 13 giugno 2021; Card. Pietro Parolin a Desio per il centenario dell'elezione di Pio XI uomo di grande cultura, Il Sismografo, domenica 19 dicembre 2021; Achille Ratti: cento anni fa la sua elezione a Papa by Luca Frigerio, Chiesa di Milano, Mercoledì 9 Febbraio 2022; Pius XI, Saint Joseph, and Joseph Stalin by Michael J. Nader, The Catolic World Report, March 19, 2022; Concistori, le scelte mirate di Pio XI by Marco Mancini, ACI Stampa, Città del Vaticano, 18 agosto, 2022 / 10:00 AM; Vaticano, pressing sul museo etnografico del Papa per le restituzioni dell'arte coloniale raccolta da Pio XI, Il Messaggero, Venerdì 17 Marzo 2023, 20:11; Por qué tardó tanto el Vaticano en reconocer a Franco? by Francisco Martínez Hoyos, La Vanguardia, Il Sismografo, giovedì 4 maggio 2023.

(1) This see is also called Naupactus.

(32) 3. LAURENTI, Camillo
(1861-1938)

Birth. November 20 (1), 1861, Monte Porzio Catone, diocese of Frascati, Papal State. Son of Luigi Laurenti and Adelaide Lovatti, a noble woman.

Education. Resided at Almo Collegio Capranica, Rome, from November 1, 1872 until July 31, 1884; studied at the Pontifical Urbanian Athenaeum "De Propaganda Fide," Rome, where he earned doctorates in philosophy and theology.

Priesthood. Ordained, June 7, 1884, Rome. Staff member of the S.C. for the Propagation of the Faith, September 1, 1884; first minutant, December 1, 1887. Privy chamberlain supranumerarius, August 3, 1889; reappointed, August 16, 1903. Professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Urbanian Athenaeum "De Propaganda Fide," 1892-1908. Undersecretary of the S.C. for the Propagation of the Faith, October 20, 1908. Domestic prelate of His Holiness, June 12, 1909. Secretary of the S.C. for the Propagation of the Faith, August 12, 1911. Consultor of the Supreme S.C. of the Holy Office, March 4, 1912. Consultor of the S.C. of the Oriental Church, November 29, 1917.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of June 13, 1921; received red hat and deaconry of S. Maria della Scala, June 16, 1921. His cardinalitial motto was Stella matutina. Participated in the conclave of 1922, which elected Pope Pius XI. Papal legate to the centennial celebrations of Our Lady of Larmes, Treviglio, Milan, February 1922. Prefect of the S.C. for Religious, July 5, 1922. Papal legate to the Eucharistic Congress of Sassari, August 15, 1923; to the Eucharistic Congress of Sora, September 14, 1924; and to the Congress of Christ the King, Milan, May 15, 1926. Pro-prefect of the S.C. of Rites, December 17, 1928; prefect, March 12, 1929. Opted for the order of cardinal priests and his deaconry was elevated pro illa vice to title, December 16, 1935.

Death September 6, 1938, of a heart attack, Rome. Buried, family's tomb, Campo Verano cemetery, Rome. His remains were later transferred to the church of San Giuseppe of the Opera Don Guanella in via Aurelia Antica, 446, Rome (2) (3).

Bibliography. "Cardinali defunti." Annuario pontificio per l'anno 1939, Città del Vaticano : Tipografia poliglotta vaticana, 1938, p. 85; Daniel, Charles; Paul-Marie Baumgarten; Antoine de Waal. Rome; le chef suprême l'organisation et l'administration centrale de l'église. Paris : Plon, 1900, p. 681; "Liste des cardinaux par ordre alphabétique." Annuaire Pontifical Catholique de 1936, Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1937, p. 100; L'Osservatore Romano [electronic resource]. Città del Vaticano : L'Osservatore Romano, LXI, n. 140 (June 13-14, 1926), p. 1; Pięta, Zenonem. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen IX (1903-1922). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 2002, pp. 19 and 26.

Webgraphy. Photographs and arms, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is according to all the sources consulted except Daniel, Rome; le chef suprême l'organisation et l'administration centrale de l'église, p. 681, which says that he was born on September 1, 1861; and L'Osservatore Romano, LXI, n. 140 (June 13-14, 1926), p. 1, which says that he was born on November 24, 1862
(2) This is the text of the inscription on his funeral monument, kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta:

©1998-2023 Salvador Miranda.