Francesco Minerva

Francesco Minerva (born January 31, 1904 in Canosa di Puglia , Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani , Italy ; † August 23, 2004 ibid) was first bishop , later first archbishop of Lecce .

Life

He was the son of Domenico Minerva and his wife Anna Terrone. Minerva studied law and theology and was ordained a priest on April 16, 1927 by the former Bishop of Nardò , Nicola Giannattasio . In 1931 he became archpriest of the Cathedral of San Sabino in his hometown.

Pope Pius XII appointed him Bishop of Nardò on September 16, 1948. The episcopal ordination donated him on October 31 of the same year Ferdinando Bernardi , Archbishop of Taranto ; Co- consecrators were Giuseppe Di Donna , Bishop of Andria , and Giuseppe Ruotolo , Bishop of Ugento . On December 17, 1950, he was appointed Bishop of Lecce. In 1956 Minerva organized the celebrations for the 15th National Eucharistic Congress. He participated in the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965 . With the elevation of the diocese of Lecce to the archbishopric on October 20, 1980, he became the first archbishop of Lecce.

On January 27, 1981, Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation he had submitted for reasons of age. Francesco Minerva retired to his hometown of Canosa di Puglia and died in 2004 at the age of 100. Since 2008 he has been buried in the crypt of the Cathedral of San Sabino.

Web links

Entry on Francesco Minerva on catholic-hierarchy.org
I vescovi del passato ( Memento of April 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Archdiocese of Lecce (Italian)

predecessor	Office	successor
Gennaro Fenizia	Bishop of Nardò 1948–1950	Corrado Ursi
Alberto Costa	Bishop / Archbishop of Lecce 1950–1981	Michele Mincuzzi

personal data
SURNAME	Minerva, Francesco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian clergyman, bishop and archbishop of Lecce
DATE OF BIRTH	January 31, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH	Canosa di Puglia , Barletta-Andria-Trani Province , Italy
DATE OF DEATH	August 23, 2004
Place of death	Canosa di Puglia