Celso Benigno Luigi Costantini
Celso Benigno Luigi Costantini (3 April 1876 – 17 October 1958) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Chancellor from 1954 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.
Biography
Born in Castions di Zoppola, Celso Costantini studied in Rome, where he obtained his doctorates in philosophy and theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on 26 December 1899, and then did pastoral work until 1914 in Concordia, where he was also elected as capitular vicar. During World War I, Costantini was a military chaplain in the Italian Army. He served as Concordia's vicar general from 1919 to 1920, when he was made Apostolic Administrator of Fiume on 10 May.
On 22 July 1921, Costantini was appointed Titular Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia by Pope Benedict XV. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 24 August from Cardinal Pietro La Fontaine, with Bishops Angelo Bartolomasi and Luigi Paulini serving as co-consecrators.
Costantini became the first Apostolic Delegate to China on 12 August 1922, and was advanced to Titular Archbishop of Theodosiopolis in Arcadia the next month, on 9 September. During his time in China, he called the first episcopal conference in Shanghai in 1924, made constitutions for the mission in China, helped the foundation of Fu Jen Catholic University and the episcopal promotion of six Chinese priests, and instituted several regional major seminaries. In 1931, he founded the Congregation of the Disciples of the Lord (31 March) and became the Latin Ordinary of Harbin (28 May).
After departing from China in 1933, Costantini entered the service of the Roman Curia, being appointed Secretary of the Congregation for Propagation of Faith on 20 December 1935. As Secretary, he was the second-highest official of that dicastery, under Cardinal Pietro Fumasoni Biondi.
Pope Pius XII created him Cardinal-Priest of Santi Nereo e Achilleo in the consistory of 12 January 1953. On 22 May 1954, the Cardinal was named Apostolic Chancellor, opting for the cardinalitial title of San Lorenzo in Damaso on 9 June 1958.
He died in Rome, at age 82. His death came after that of Pope Pius XII but before the 1958 conclave. He is buried next to his brother Giovanni, who also entered religion, in his native Zoppola.
Further Reading
- Edited by Bruno Fabio Pighin (2014), The Secrets of a Vatican Cardinal: Celso Constantini's Wartime Diaries, 1938-1947. McGill-Queen's University Press.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by none |
Apostolic Delegate to China 12 August 1922 – 20 December 1935 |
Succeeded by Mario Zanin |
| Preceded by Carlo Salotti |
Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith 20 December 1935 – 12 January 1953 |
Succeeded by Filippo Bernardini |
| Preceded by Tommaso Boggiani, OP |
Apostolic Chancellor 22 May 1954 – 17 October 1958 |
Succeeded by Santiago Copello |
External links
- Catholic-Hierarchy
- Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
- Congregatio Discipulorum Domini
- Celso Costantini's Contribution to the Localization and Inculturation of the Church in China
- Archbishop Costantini and The First Plenary Council of Shanghai (1924)
- Cardinal Celso Costantini and the Chinese Catholic Church
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