Antonino Arata

Antonino Arata (born October 28, 1883 in Piacenza , Italy , † August 25, 1948 in Grottaferrata , Italy) was a Vatican diplomat .

Life

Antonino Arata entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See after his ordination on June 9, 1906 . On July 11, 1935 he was by Pope Pius XI. appointed titular archbishop of Sardis ; His appointment as Apostolic Nuncio in Latvia and Estonia took place one day later, on July 12, 1935. Antonino Arata was ordained bishop on December 21, 1922 by Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII.

After the annexation of the Baltic States by the Soviet Union , Antonino Arata had to inform Cardinal State Secretary Luigi Maglione on August 13, 1940 that the nunciatures in Riga and Tallinn (Reval) had been closed by the new rulers and that he had been asked to give Latvia and Estonia immediately leave. Even if Luigi Maglione urged the Archbishop in his reply to stay "as long as possible", the pressure exerted on him by the authorities became so strong that he returned to Rome on August 27, 1940 . He did this with an Estonian and Latvian flag in his luggage and the promise to keep them in the Vatican until the sovereignty of the two states was regained. The flags are still in the Archbishop's personal estate.

Antonino Arata, who worked in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on his return to Rome , died on August 25, 1948 in Grottaferrata near Rome.

Web links

• Entry on Antonino Arata on catholic-hierarchy.org