Luigi Conti (nuncio)

This article is about the Vatican diplomat. For the local Italian prelate, see Luigi Conti (archbishop).

Luigi Conti (2 March 1929 – 5 December 2015) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.[1] He held the title of archbishop and the rank of nuncio from 1975.

Biography

Conti was born on 2 March 1929 in Ceprano, Province of Frosinone, Italy.[2] He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Veroli-Frosinone on 29 September 1954. He prepared for a diplomatic career at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.[3]

He early assignments working in the diplomatic service took him to Indonesia, Venezuela, Belgium, and France. In 1971 he became Permanent Observer of the Holy See to UNESCO in Paris. [4]

On 1 August 1975, Pope Paul VI named him Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, Apostolic Delegate to the Antilles, and titular archbishop of Gratiana.[5] He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Jean-Marie Villot on 5 October.[6] He defended his newly constructed residence when criticized for its extravagance by Cardinal Aloisio Lorscheider and other prelates who saw it when attending a conference of Latin American bishops in Port-au-Prince.[7] (The structure survived the earthquake and tsunami of 2010.)[2] He continued as Nuncio to Haiti when Paul Fouad Tabet replaced him as Delegate to the Antilles on 9 February 1980.[8]

On 19 November 1983, he was named Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Iraq and Kuwait.[1]

On 17 January 1987, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Ecuador.[9]

On 12 April 1991, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Honduras.[10]

On 15 May 1999, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey and Turkmenistan.[11] While he was in that position, Pope John Paul II made the first papal reference to the "Armenian genocide".[2]

On 8 August 2001, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Malta and Libya.[12]

He retired on 5 June 2003.[13][14] He died on 5 December 2015.[15][2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Bishops who are not Ordinaries: CO… – CQ…". www.gcatholic.org. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Si è spento monsignor Luigi Conti. E' stato arcivescovo e nunzio apostolico". Editoriale Oggi (in Italian). 6 December 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, Ex-alunni 1950 – 1999" (in Italian). Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Religion". Le Monde (in French). 8 August 1975. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  5. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXVII. 1975. pp. 495, 507. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Archbishop Luigi Conti [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. ^ Simons, Marlise (9 April 1983). "Haitians Bemoan 'the Pope's Purge of Main Street'". New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  8. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXII. 1980. pp. 254, 365. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  9. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF) (in Italian). Vol. LXXIX. 1987. p. 232. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  10. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXIII. 1991. p. 447. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Rappresentanze Ponteficie, 1998" (in Italian). Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 08.08.2001" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 8 August 2001. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  13. ^ "New Apostolic Nuncio Named for Malta". Zenit. 6 June 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 05.06.2003" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  15. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF) (in Italian). Vol. CVIII. 2016. p. 94. Retrieved 25 July 2019.