14 Facts About Silvio Oddi

Silvio Angelo Pio Oddi was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia.

Silvio Oddi became a cardinal in 1969 and headed the Congregation for the Clergy from 1979 to 1986.

Silvio Oddi was born in Morfasso, near Piacenza, Italy, on 14 November 1910.

Silvio Oddi studied at the Collegio Alberoni in Piacenza from 1926 to 1933.

Silvio Oddi was ordained a priest on 21 May 1933 in Rome, and continued his studies at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum.

Silvio Oddi entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1934 and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1936.

Silvio Oddi was assigned to the Apostolic Delegation to Iran until 1939.

Silvio Oddi became the senior official, charge d'affaires, of the Apostolic Nunciature to Yugoslavia in 1951.

Silvio Oddi was named Apostolic Internuncio to Egypt on 11 January 1957.

Silvio Oddi was named Nuncio to Belgium and to Luxembourg on 17 May 1962.

Silvio Oddi took part in the Second Vatican Council.

Silvio Oddi named him Papal Legate for the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi and gave him responsibility for the shrine of Loreto as well.

Silvio Oddi retired at the age of 75 upon the appointment of his successor Antonio Innocenti on 9 January 1986.

Silvio Oddi died on 29 June 2001 in Cortemaggiore and was buried in the parish church of Morfasso.