Luigi Lavitrano
Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Per crucem ad astra |
| Styles of Luigi Lavitrano | ||
|---|---|---|
Reference style His Eminence | | |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence | |
| Informal style | Cardinal | |
| See | Palermo (emeritus) | |
Luigi Lavitrano (7 March 1874 – 2 August 1950) was an Italian
Sacred Congregation for Religious
from 1945 until his death. Lavitrano was elevated to the cardinalate in 1929.
Biography
Born in
priesthood on 21 March 1898, and then taught at the Leonine Institute until 1910, when he became its rector. He was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness
on 8 March 1904.
On 25 May 1914, Lavitrano was appointed
Apostolic Administrator of Castellammare di Stabia
from 1924 to 1925.
Sacred Congregation for Religious in the Roman Curia on 14 May 1945. Lavitrano's resignation was unexpected, and it is considered that he resigned because his alleged sympathy for the Fascists—he voted for the National Fascist Party in the 1929 Italian general elections[2]—became unpopular.[3]
Lavitrano died in
basilica
of Santa Maria di Loreto in his native Forio.
References
- ^ TIME Magazine. Pope and Pastors February 10, 1940
- ^ TIME Magazine. 98 28/100% Pure April 8, 1929
- ^ Liberation: The Second World War in Sicily. Best of Sicily. Quote: "By a tradition dating from the medieval Norman rule of southern Italy, the Archbishop of Palermo is the Primate of Sicily. In modern times, this has entailed little more than a titular (and symbolic) precedence over other Sicilian bishops, but an important one. It was deemed inopportune for the Archbishop of Palermo (since 1928), Luigi Cardinal Lavitrano (1874-1950), who had been sympathetic to the Fascist regime, or at least perceived in that light, to continue in his position; General Patton's dislike of cardinal Lavitrano was well-known. Therefore, he 'resigned' to a post in the Roman Curia in December 1944. For a bishop to retire from active pastoral work at seventy years of age was unusual (the mandatory retirement age is now seventy-five), but in the case of this unforeseen wartime resignation - possibly the first of its kind in modern Italy - the Vatican did not have an immediate successor in mind. In fact, Ernesto Ruffini (1888-1967) was not appointed Archbishop of Palermo until October of the following year. Though conservative, Cardinal Ruffini was regarded as less reactionary and less monarchist than his predecessor."[author missing]
