12 Facts About Antonio Caggiano

Antonio Caggiano was an archbishop and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina.

Antonio Caggiano played a part in helping Nazi sympathisers and war criminals escape prosecution in Europe by easing their passage to South America.

Antonio Caggiano studied in the seminary of Santa Fe and became a priest there in 1908, at the age of 23.

Argentina's first move into Nazi smuggling was in January 1946, when Antonio Caggiano flew with Bishop Agustin Barrere to Rome where Antonio Caggiano was due to be created cardinal.

Antonio Caggiano sailed first class on the same ship back with Cardinal Caggiano.

Antonio Caggiano participated in the 1958 and 1963 Papal conclaves, but his age prevented him from participating in the conclaves of 1978.

Antonio Caggiano retired from the Archbishopric on 22 April 1975, and resigned from the Military Ordinariate on 7 July of the same year.

Antonio Caggiano was the Archbishop Emeritus of Buenos Aires for four more years.

Antonio Caggiano died in 1979, at the age of 90, and was buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires.

In 1961, Antonio Caggiano wrote a prologue for the Spanish translation by Juan Francisco Guevara of Le Marxisme-leninisme, written by Jean Ousset, private secretary of monarchist intellectual Charles Maurras, and founder of the Cite catholique fundamentalist organization.

In October 1961, Antonio Caggiano, who was then vicar of the Argentine Military Ordinariate, participated in the inauguration ceremony of the first course on counter-revolutionary warfare in the Higher Military College at the side of President Arturo Frondizi, who within a few months was ousted, accused, Verbitsky says, of being too tolerant towards communism.

Antonio Caggiano says that in the course of counter-insurgency classes cadets at the Navy Mechanics School were shown the film The Battle of Algiers, made by Italian communist director Gillo Pontecorvo.