Guido del Mestri
Italian prelate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guido del Mestri also Guido Del Mestri[1] (13 January 1911– 2 August 1993) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1940 to 1984. He was made a cardinal in 1991.
Guido del Mestri | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Eustachio | |
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| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Appointed | 28 June 1991 |
| Term ended | 2 August 1993 |
| Predecessor | Giacomo Violardo |
| Successor | Sergio Sebastiani |
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 11 April 1936 by Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani |
| Consecration | 31 December 1961 by Laurean Rugambwa |
Created cardinal | 28 June 1991 by Pope John Paul II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Deacon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Guido del Mestri 13 January 1911 |
| Died | 2 August 1993 (aged 82) |
| Alma mater | |
Coat of arms |  |
Biography
Guido del Mestri was born in Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then under Austro-Hungarian rule, on 13 January 1911 to an Italian father, Count Gian Vito Del Mestri, and an Austrian mother, Baroness Marianna de Grazia.[2][3] He grew up speaking Croatian, Italian, and German. He studied at the Jesuit Lyceum of Kalksburg, Vienna, and then at the Almo Collegio Capranica.[2] He also earned degrees in theology and canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University.[4] He was ordained a priest on 11 April 1936 and joined the clergy of the Diocese of Gorizia, under Italian control since 1918.[2]
To prepare for a diplomat's career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1937.[5] His early assignments took him to Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Indonesia, and Germany, and included a stint in Rome.[2] He was expelled from Romania with the rest of the nunciature personnel in July 1950 when the country came under Communist rule.[6] He opened the new nunciature in Syria in 1951.[4]
On 21 September 1959, Pope John XXIII named him Apostolic Delegate to British Eastern and Western Africa.[7] Pope John named him titular archbishop of Tuscamia on 28 October 1961[8] and he received his episcopal consecration in Nairobi on 31 December[2] from Cardinal Laurean Rugambwa.
On 27 October 1965, Pope Paul VI appointed him Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Kenya.[9] On 9 September 1967, Pope Paul named him Apostolic Delegate to Mexico.[10] On 20 June 1970, Pope Paul appointed him Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Canada.[11] On 13 August 1975, Pope Paul named him Apostolic Nuncio to Germany.[12] He resigned in 1984.[3]
In January 1989, Pope John Paul made him a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church.[13]
He was named a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1991.[14] The New York Times identified him as an Italian.[15]
He died at the Theresienklinik in Nuremberg, Germany, where in retirement he served as chaplain, on 2 August 1993.[4][6]
