Roman Catholic Cardinal. A native of Cavour, Teodoro Valfrè di Bonzo was the son of a count. Entering seminary in Turin in 1871, he was ordained priest on June 10, 1876. Earning a doctorate in theology from the city's university a month later, he moved to Rome in order to further his studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, receiving a doctorate in canon law in June 1880. One of his classmates was Giacomo della Chiesa, who as future Pope Benedict XV would elevate him to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1919. Appointed 'minutante' of the Sacred Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Valfrè was named apostolic delegate and extraordinary envoy in Costa Rica on July 11, 1884. His mission was however delayed due to the anti-religious movement prevalent at the period such that diplomatic relations but the Holy See and the said country were not normalized until 1908. Elected instead bishop of the diocese of Cuneo, he received his episcopal consecration in Turin from Cardinal Gaetano Alimonda on May 3, 1885. Named assistant at the Pontifical throne on April 5, 1895, he was promoted to the metropolitan see of Vercelli on March 27, 1905. Transferred to the titular archbishopric see of Trebizonda on September 13, 1916, he was named nuncio in Austria-Hungary on the following day by Pope Benedict XV who in the consistory of December 15, 1919, had him created cardinal priest with the title of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Called to Rome and as prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Affairs of Religious on March 6, 1920, the Cardinal passed away after weeks of grave illness at the age of sixty eight, having undermined his health during his presence in Vienna due to insufficient nourishment as a result of the Great War.
Roman Catholic Cardinal. A native of Cavour, Teodoro Valfrè di Bonzo was the son of a count. Entering seminary in Turin in 1871, he was ordained priest on June 10, 1876. Earning a doctorate in theology from the city's university a month later, he moved to Rome in order to further his studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, receiving a doctorate in canon law in June 1880. One of his classmates was Giacomo della Chiesa, who as future Pope Benedict XV would elevate him to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1919. Appointed 'minutante' of the Sacred Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Valfrè was named apostolic delegate and extraordinary envoy in Costa Rica on July 11, 1884. His mission was however delayed due to the anti-religious movement prevalent at the period such that diplomatic relations but the Holy See and the said country were not normalized until 1908. Elected instead bishop of the diocese of Cuneo, he received his episcopal consecration in Turin from Cardinal Gaetano Alimonda on May 3, 1885. Named assistant at the Pontifical throne on April 5, 1895, he was promoted to the metropolitan see of Vercelli on March 27, 1905. Transferred to the titular archbishopric see of Trebizonda on September 13, 1916, he was named nuncio in Austria-Hungary on the following day by Pope Benedict XV who in the consistory of December 15, 1919, had him created cardinal priest with the title of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Called to Rome and as prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Affairs of Religious on March 6, 1920, the Cardinal passed away after weeks of grave illness at the age of sixty eight, having undermined his health during his presence in Vienna due to insufficient nourishment as a result of the Great War.
Bio by: Eman Bonnici
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