13 Facts About Giuseppe Siri

Giuseppe Siri was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Genoa from 1946 to 1987, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1953.

Giuseppe Siri entered the minor seminary of Genoa on 16 October 1916, and attended the major seminary from 1917 to 1926.

Giuseppe Siri then studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Carlo Minoretti on 22 September 1928.

Giuseppe Siri was named prosynodal examiner in the archdiocesan curia in 1936 and rector of Collegio Teologico S Tommaso d'Aquino in 1937.

On 14 March 1944, Giuseppe Siri was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Genoa and Titular Bishop of Livias by Pope Pius XII.

Giuseppe Siri became vicar general for the archdiocese on 8 September 1944.

Giuseppe Siri negotiated with the Nazi forces surrounding Genoa and met secretly with partisan leaders, eventually arranging a Nazi surrender that avoided further bombardment of the city.

Giuseppe Siri became known as the "minestrone cardinal" for his relief work in soup kitchens.

Giuseppe Siri, who had voted in the papal conclaves of 1958 and 1963, was one of the cardinal electors in the August and October 1978 conclaves.

Giuseppe Siri was a strong candidate for the papacy, or papabile, in all four conclaves, in which his support lay mostly with curialists and other conservative cardinals.

Giuseppe Siri reached age 80 in 1986 and thus lost the right to participate in future conclaves; he was the last remaining cardinal elector who had been elevated by Pope Pius XII.

Giuseppe Siri resigned from his post in Genoa on 6 July 1987, after 41 years of service.

Giuseppe Siri died in Villa Campostano, Genoa, at age 82, and was buried at San Lorenzo Metropolitan Cathedral in Genoa.