1. Giovanni Mercati was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
14 Facts About Giovanni Mercati
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Giovanni Mercati served as archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and librarian of the Vatican Library from 1936 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1936.
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Giovanni Mercati was born in Villa Gaida, Reggio Emilia, to a devout Christian family.
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Giovanni Mercati was the second of four brothers, the elder and third brothers were priests, as was his uncle, Giuseppe Mercati, who served as a pastor in Castellarano.
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Giovanni Mercati entered the classical Lyceum Spallanzani in 1883, and later the seminary of Reggio Emilia.
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Giovanni Mercati was ordained to the priesthood on 21 September 1889, and then was sent for further studies to Rome where he resided at the Pontifical Lambard Seminary, and studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, which granted him his doctorate in theology in the summer of 1891.
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From 1902 to 1906 Giovanni Mercati was a member of the Historical-Liturgical Commission, and on 31 January 1903 was named a consultor to the Pontifical Commission for Biblical Studies.
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Giovanni Mercati was given the honorific title of domestic prelate of his Holiness on 2 August 1904, and on 23 October 1919 appointed prefect of the Vatican Library.
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On 12 January 1936 Giovanni Mercati was given the honorific title of protonotary apostolic.
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Giovanni Mercati was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1939 papal conclave, which elected Pope Pius XII.
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Giovanni Mercati was once quoted as saying, "I'm always ready to learn".
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Cardinal Giovanni Mercati died from a heart attack in Vatican City, at the age of 90.
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Giovanni Mercati is buried in his cardinal's church of San Giorgio in Velabro in Rome.
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Giovanni Mercati was honored with a Festschrift in 6 volumes, published in 1946, to celebrate his 80th birthday:.