Clemente Micara

Clemente Micara (24 December 1879 – 11 March 1965) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1909 to 1950 and was Vicar General of Rome from 1951 until his death.


Clemente Micara
Vicar General of Rome
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
Appointed26 January 1951
Term ended11 March 1965
PredecessorFrancesco Marchetti Selvaggiani
SuccessorLuigi Traglia
Other posts
Orders
Ordination20 September 1902
Consecration8 August 1920
by Pietro Gasparri
Created cardinal18 February 1946
by Pope Pius XII
RankCardinal-Priest (1946)
Cardinal-Bishop (1946–65)
Personal details
Birth nameClemente Micara
Born24 December 1879
Frascati, Kingdom of Italy
Died11 March 1965(1965-03-11) (aged 85)
Rome, Italy
BuriedSanta Maria sopra Minerva
Previous post
Alma materPontifical Roman Seminary
Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Lateran University
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
MottoIn Domino confido
Coat of arms
Styles of
Clemente Micara
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeVelletri-Segni (suburbicarain)

Pope Pius XII made him a cardinal in 1946.

Biography

Born in Frascati, Micara attended the Pontifical Roman Seminary, the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Lateran University, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 20 September 1902, and finished his studies in 1904. After entering the Roman Curia, in the Secretariat of State, in 1904, Micara was named secretary of the nunciature to Argentina in 1909. He was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness on 5 January 1910, and later Domestic Prelate of His Holiness on 21 August 1918. Micara was made auditor of the Belgian nunciature on 16 April 1915, and of the Austrian nunciature in 1916.

On 7 May 1920, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XV the first Nuncio to Czechoslovakia and Titular Archbishop of Apamea in Syria. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 8 August from Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, with Bishops Antonio Valbonesi and Karl Kašpar serving as co-consecrators, in the chapel of the Bohemian College in Rome. After being named Nuncio to Belgium and Internuncio to Luxembourg on 30 May 1923, Micara bestowed the Golden Rose on Queen Elizabeth of Belgium as a papal representative on 10 December 1925. He resided in Rome during the Nazi occupation of Belgium from 1940 to 1944, at which time the nuncio resumed his post.

Pope Pius XII named Micara Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in the consistory of 18 February 1946, and then Bishop of Velletri-Segni on 13 June. On 11 November 1950, he was made Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, and Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites in the Roman Curia. In 1953, he resigned as Prefect of Religious (17 January) and Pro-Prefect of Rites (26 January). Micara was also President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology from 1951 until his death.

Micara was appointed Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals on 13 January 1951 and Vicar General of Rome on the following 26 January. As Vicar General, Micara governed the Diocese of Rome on behalf of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. For the 1953 Italian general election, Micara urged the Catholics of Rome to "[v]ote well, vote as Catholics, vote as Romans".[1]

He served as a cardinal elector in the 1958 papal conclave that elected Pope John XXIII, and voted in the conclave of 1963 that elected Pope Paul VI. He was called the "Grand Elector" among the Curia because of his influential role in securing the votes of conservative cardinals' for Pope Paul, with whom he was friends, in the latter conclave.[2] Seen as a progressive,[2] the Cardinal attended the first three of the four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in 1962, 1963 and 1964.

He died on 11 March 1965 after a long illness[2] in Rome, at age 85, and was buried in the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

Honours

References

  1. TIME Magazine. On the Eve June 8, 1953
  2. TIME Magazine. Milestones May 19, 1965
  3. Royal Decree of 1925/-Mémorial du centenaire de l'Ordre de Léopold. 1832-1932. Bruxelles, J. Rozez, 1933.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
none
Apostolic Nuncio to Czechoslovakia
19201923
Succeeded by
Francesco Marmaggi
Preceded by
Angelo Dolci
Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium
19231950
Succeeded by
Fernando Cento
Preceded by
Achille Locatelli
Internuncio to Luxembourg
19231946
Succeeded by
Fernando Cento
Preceded by
Carlo Salotti
Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites
19501953
Succeeded by
Gaetano Cicognani
Preceded by
Luigi Lavitrano
Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Religious
19501953
Succeeded by
Valerio Valeri
Preceded by
Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani
Vicar General of Rome
19511965
Succeeded by
Luigi Traglia
Preceded by
Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani
President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology
19511965
Succeeded by
Cesario D’Amato, OSB
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