Sante Portalupi

Sante Portalupi, also Portaluppi,[1][2] (1 November 1909 – 31 March 1984) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. From 1959 until his death he held the senior position as apostolic delegate or apostolic nuncio in several countries in Latin America and Africa, ending his career as Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal.

Biography

Sante Portalupi was born in Mortara, Italy, on 1 November 1909. He was ordained a priest on 15 April 15, 1933.[3] That same year he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy to prepare for a career in the diplomatic service.[4] He completed his doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1936 with a dissertation on "The organic articles annexed to the Napoleonic concordat of 1801".[5]

His early assignments include a posting to Paraguay, where he was chargé d'affaires in 1949.[1]

On 29 January 1959, Pope John XXIII appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Honduras and to Nicaragua.[6] On 14 October 1961, Pope John named him Titular Archbishop of Christopolis.[7] He received his episcopal consecration on 3 December from Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella.[3] In January 1967, he helped negotiate the release of American hostages held by anti-government rebels.[8][9]

On 27 September 1967, Pope Paul VI appointed Portalupi Apostolic Delegate to Northern Africa.[3][lower-alpha 1] In the years that followed, the Holy See established relationships with countries within Portalupi's mandate as delegate, and he took on the additional titles of Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Algeria on 6 March 1972,[11] Pro-Nuncio to Tunisia on 22 March 1972,[11] and Pro-Nuncio to Morocco on 5 March 1976.[12] These modifications left his role as Delegate to Northern Africa with responsibility for a single country, and his delegate's title changed to Apostolic Delegate to Libya.

Pope John Paul II appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal on 15 December 1979.[13] When Pope John Paul sought to fulfill the instructions relayed by Sister Lúcia of Fatima calling for the consecration of Russia to the Virgin Mary,[14] Portalupi interviewed her in 1982 and again in 1983 to ascertain whether the instructions had been carried out properly.[15][16]

He died while still in that post on 31 March 1984.[17]

In 1995, the local government of Mortara mounted a plaque on the house where he was born and baptized there. Portalupi left the building to Caritas of Vigano for use as a nursery; it has become social housing.[2]

See also

Notes
  1. The New York Times identified him as "apostolic delegate in North Africa" when he met with Pope Paul VI on 15 January 1973.[10]

References
  1. Rossi, Laura (1998). El desarrollo de la ensenanza social de los obispos del Paraguay (1940-1993) (in Spanish). Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 74. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  2. "Progetto di Housing Sociale "Il Cortile"". Servizio per la Promozione del Sostegno Economico alla Chiesa cattolica (in Italian). Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  3. "Archbishop Sante Portalupi [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, Ex-alunni 1900 – 1949" (in Italian). Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  5. "Doctoral dissertations..." International Directory of Academic Works on Canon Law. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  6. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LI. 1959. p. 116. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LIII. 1961. p. 737. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. "50 Hostages Freed, Nicaragua Calmed". New York Times. Associated Press. 24 January 1967. p. 6. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  9. Ferrero Blanco, Maria Dolores (2016). La Nicaragua de los Somoza: 1936-1979 (in Spanish). Universidad de Huelva Publicaciones. pp. 326–8. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  10. Hofmann, Paul (16 January 1973). "Mrs. Meir Confers with Pope in Vatican". New York Times. p. 16. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  11. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXIV. 1972. p. 255. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  12. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXVIII. 1976. p. 237. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  13. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXI. 1979. p. 1625. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  14. "Sister Lucy's Statements to the Papal Nuncio". archive.fatima.org. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  15. de Belfont, Joseph (2011). Mystères et vérités cachés du troisième secret de Fatima: Réflexions d'un simple fidèle sur les textes diffusés par le Vatican le 26 juin 2000 (in French). Fernand Lanore. pp. 157, 164. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  16. O'Connor, Edward D. (1988). "The Roots of Pope John Paul II's Devotion to Mary". Marian Studies. 39. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  17. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXVI. 1984. p. 512. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
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