Francesco Cardinal Marchetti-Selvaggiani

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Styles of Francesco Cardinal Marchetti-Selvaggiani
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Frascati (suburbicarian), Ostia (suburbicarian)

Francesco Cardinal Marchetti-Selvaggiani (October 1, 1871-January 13, 1951) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who spent his entire career in the Roman Curia and rose to Dean of the College of Cardinals and head of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office.

Born in Rome, he was ordained a priest in 1896 by Francesco di Paola Cassetta, vice regent of Rome, and immediately joined the staff of the Secretariat of State. He remained there until 1922, rising through the ranks of monsignor (becoming Privy Chamberlain in 1914, Domestic Prelate of His Holiness in 1915, and Protonotary Apostolic in 1917) before being named Titular Archbishop of Seleucia di Isauria in 1918. His last two postings in the Secretariat of State were as nuncio to Venezuela and then to Austria. He then became a high official of the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, and it was as such that he was elevated to Cardinal by Pope Pius XI in the consistory of 1930. He received the title of S. Maria Nuova.

In 1931 he became the Vicar General of Rome, functionally governing the Roman diocese, and Archpriest of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano. In 1936 he was advanced to Cardinal Bishop of the suburbicarian diocese of Frascati. Just after Pope Pius XII was elected in 1939, Donato Cardinal Sbarretti, head of the Holy Office, died, and Pius named Cardinal Marchetti-Selvaggiani to the position. On becoming the senior Cardinal-Bishop in 1948, Marchetti-Selvaggiani became Dean of the Sacred College and Bishop of Ostia in addition to his first bishopric see. He also succeeded as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation Ceremonial, and continued in all these positions until his death.

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Catholic Hierarchy

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Preceded by Gennaro Cardinal Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte

Dean of the College of Cardinals 1948-1951

Succeeded by Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant

Dean of the College of Cardinals
… • L. Oreglia di Santo Stefano (1896–1913) • S. Vannutelli (1913-1915) • V. Vannutelli (1915-1930) • G. Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte (1930-1948) • F. Marchetti-Selvaggiani (1948-1951) • E. Tisserant (1951-1972) • A. G. Cicognani (1972-1973) • L. Traglia (1974-1977) • C. Confalonieri (1977-1986) • A. Rossi (1986-1993) • B. Gantin (1993-2002) • J. Ratzinger (2002-2005) • A. Sodano (2005-)