Guglielmo Piani

Guglielmo Piani, S.D.B. (16 September 1875 – 27 September 1956) also known as William Piani,[1] was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He was Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines from 1922 to 1948 and then played a similar role in Mexico until his death in 1956.

His Excellency

Guglielmo Piani

S.D.B.
Titular Archbishop of Dramas
ChurchRoman Catholic
Orders
Consecration14 May 1922
by Giovanni Cardinal Cagliero, S.D.B.
Personal details
Born(1875-09-16)September 16, 1875
Martinengo, Italy
DiedSeptember 27, 1956(1956-09-27) (aged 81)
NationalityItalian
DenominationRoman Catholic
Coat of armsGuglielmo Piani's coat of arms

Biography

Guglielmo Piani was born on 16 September 1875 in Martinengo, Italy. He was ordained a priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco on 15 May 1898.

On 16 December 1921, Pope Benedict XV appointed him titular bishop of Palaeopolis in Pamphylia and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Puebla de los Ángeles.[2] This was quickly revised because of intense conflict between the Church and the Mexican government,[3] and on 17 March 1922 he was named titular archbishop of Dramas and Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines.[4] He received his episcopal consecration in Rome on 14 May 1922.[5]

His service in the Philippines was interrupted in 1936 when he visited Mexico as an Apostolic Visitor to develop an independent assessment of the ongoing conflict between the government and the Church.[6] He arrived in June shortly after the death of Pascual Díaz y Barreto, Archbishop of Mexico, on 19 May 1936[3] and it fell to him to recommend a successor.[7][lower-alpha 1] He continued from Mexico to Rome on other business,[8] and there he provided intelligence that led Pope Pius XI to address an encyclical to the bishops of Mexico that directed them to adopt a less confrontational posture.[9][lower-alpha 2]

On 5 October 1948, Pope Pius XII named him Apostolic Visitor to Mexico with the authority of Apostolic Delegate. He received the title of Apostolic Delegate to Mexico on 13 April 1951.[lower-alpha 3][12]

He still held that title when he died on 27 September 1956 at the age of 81.[13]

Notes
  1. The actual successor to Diaz was not Guillermo Tritschler y Córdova but Luis María Martínez.
  2. The encyclical was Nos es muy Conicida.[10]
  3. Piani is identified as Delegate to Mexico on 31 June 1951.[11]

References
  1. Cornejo, Miguel R. (1939). Cornejo's Commonwealth Directory of the Philippines. Manila: Miguel R. Cornejo, A.B., LL.B. p. 2434.
  2. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XIII. 1921. p. 560. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. Andes, Stephen J.C. (2014). The Vatican and Catholic Activism in Mexico and Chile: The Politics of Transnational Catholicism, 1920-1940. Oxford University Press. p. 168. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  4. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XIV. 1922. pp. 195, 616. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  5. "Europe". Catholic Missions: 167. July 1922. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  6. Slawson, Douglas J. (1994). "The National Catholic Welfare Conference and the Mexican Church-State Conflict of the Mid-1930s: A Case of Déjà Vu". The Catholic Historical Review. 80 (1): 58–96, esp. 92-93. JSTOR 25024204.
  7. "Mexico's Archbishop to be Mgr. Trichtler; Successor to Diaz Will Be Named by Pope on Recommendation of Special Vatican Envoy". New York Times. 7 November 1936. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  8. "Apostolic Delegate to Philippines will Visit Vatican". New York Times. 11 October 1936. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. Pollard, John (2014). The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  10. "Firmissimam Constantiam, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on the Religious Situation in Mexico". Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 28 March 1937. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  11. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XLIV. 1952. p. 16. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  12. De Marchi, Giuseppe (1957). Le nunziature apostoliche dal 1800 al 1956 (in Italian). Ed. di Storia e Letteratura. p. 173.
  13. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XLVIII. 1956. p. 740. Retrieved 19 May 2020. Delegato Apostolico nel Messico
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