The First Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria after the fall of the Communist Regime, Monsignor Mario Rizzi was born in San Giovanni in Persiceto, Province of Bologna, Italy, on March 3, 1926, to a peasant family. Ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Bologna by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano on October 3, 1948, he earned a canon law degree and successively entered the Roman Curia on October 1, 1953, serving for decades in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, first as minutante, then as capo ufficio between 1969 and 1982, an ultimately as sub-secretary from September 21, 1982 until 1991.
Appointed Chaplain of His Holiness in 1960 and Domestic Prelate in 1969, at 65 years of age, Monsignor Rizzi was named Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria by Pope John Paul II, receiving his episocopal consecration with the Titular See of Bagnoregio on April 20, 1991, from Cardinal Angelo Sodano assisted by Archbishops Metodi Dimitrov Stratiev AA., and Benito Cocchi.
Rizzi's appointment as Vatican Representative in Bulgaria was the first in over 50 years. In fact, the last person to hold the position in Bulgaria was Monsignor Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII. When Roncalli was named Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece on January 12, 1935, Archbishop Giuseppe Mazzoli began serving as Delegate, until his early death in 1945. Monsignor Francesco Galloni followed until he was officially recalled by the Holy See in early 1950. Galloni left the country with the guarantees of the Bulgarian authorities that he would be allowed to return. However, he was denied re-entry and the office of the Apostolic Delegation was closed down.
As the first Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria after the fall of Communism in that country, Archbishop Rizzi restored its diplomatic relations with the Vatican. He retired from office on June 1, 1996.
Monsignor Rizzi was a renowned Latin philologist. His publications include "De triplici via", immersus in Saint Bonaventura's "Opera Omnia", 1976; "Nel regno di Bertoldo", 1976; "Diadumena di Dio", 1982; "Catullus Auratus", 1988; "Il trifoglio di San Patrizio", 1989; "In Laudem Finniae", 1997; and eight personal notes in Latin in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" of the Pope Benedict XVI in "Urbe", 2007. He was also a frequent correspondent of the "Latinitas" and "Apollinaris" Latin reviews.
Alberto Forni covered Rizzi's experiences in Bulgaria in the 2009 publication, "Sui sentieri di Papa Roncalli. La missione a Sofia di Mons. Mario Rizzi (1991-1996)".
Appointed commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1990, member of the Magister Academiae Latinitati Fovendae, honorary canon of the Capitolo della Insigne Collegiata di S. Giovanni in Persiceto, member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, corrector of Vatican documents, Pope John Paul II named him consultor ad quinquennium for the Congregation of the Oriental Churches in 1997.
Rector of the Chiesa dei Bolognesi of Rome, he served as postulator for the beatification cause of Bruno Marchesini, a seminarian from Bologna who died in odour of sanctity in 1938.
Decorated with the Horseman of Madara First Class Order by President Zhelyu Zhelev of Bulgaria on April 22, 1996, Monsignor Rizzi spent his last years in Rome, residing at via delle Sorelle Marchisio.
Archbishop Rizzi died in Rome on Friday, April 13, 2012, aged 86, in the early hours of the evening. Funeral Mass was said at the Gesù Divino Maestro parish in via Vittorio Montiglio, Rome. Successively, his remains were transferred to Bagnoregio, Province of Viterbo, where Bishop Lino Fumagalli celebrated another Requiem Mass at the Concattedrale di San Nicola on Monday, April 16, at 15.30 pm. According to his wishes, Msgr. Rizzi was laid to rest inside the cemetery of Bagnoregio.
Appointed Chaplain of His Holiness in 1960 and Domestic Prelate in 1969, at 65 years of age, Monsignor Rizzi was named Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria by Pope John Paul II, receiving his episocopal consecration with the Titular See of Bagnoregio on April 20, 1991, from Cardinal Angelo Sodano assisted by Archbishops Metodi Dimitrov Stratiev AA., and Benito Cocchi.
Rizzi's appointment as Vatican Representative in Bulgaria was the first in over 50 years. In fact, the last person to hold the position in Bulgaria was Monsignor Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII. When Roncalli was named Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece on January 12, 1935, Archbishop Giuseppe Mazzoli began serving as Delegate, until his early death in 1945. Monsignor Francesco Galloni followed until he was officially recalled by the Holy See in early 1950. Galloni left the country with the guarantees of the Bulgarian authorities that he would be allowed to return. However, he was denied re-entry and the office of the Apostolic Delegation was closed down.
As the first Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria after the fall of Communism in that country, Archbishop Rizzi restored its diplomatic relations with the Vatican. He retired from office on June 1, 1996.
Monsignor Rizzi was a renowned Latin philologist. His publications include "De triplici via", immersus in Saint Bonaventura's "Opera Omnia", 1976; "Nel regno di Bertoldo", 1976; "Diadumena di Dio", 1982; "Catullus Auratus", 1988; "Il trifoglio di San Patrizio", 1989; "In Laudem Finniae", 1997; and eight personal notes in Latin in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" of the Pope Benedict XVI in "Urbe", 2007. He was also a frequent correspondent of the "Latinitas" and "Apollinaris" Latin reviews.
Alberto Forni covered Rizzi's experiences in Bulgaria in the 2009 publication, "Sui sentieri di Papa Roncalli. La missione a Sofia di Mons. Mario Rizzi (1991-1996)".
Appointed commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1990, member of the Magister Academiae Latinitati Fovendae, honorary canon of the Capitolo della Insigne Collegiata di S. Giovanni in Persiceto, member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, corrector of Vatican documents, Pope John Paul II named him consultor ad quinquennium for the Congregation of the Oriental Churches in 1997.
Rector of the Chiesa dei Bolognesi of Rome, he served as postulator for the beatification cause of Bruno Marchesini, a seminarian from Bologna who died in odour of sanctity in 1938.
Decorated with the Horseman of Madara First Class Order by President Zhelyu Zhelev of Bulgaria on April 22, 1996, Monsignor Rizzi spent his last years in Rome, residing at via delle Sorelle Marchisio.
Archbishop Rizzi died in Rome on Friday, April 13, 2012, aged 86, in the early hours of the evening. Funeral Mass was said at the Gesù Divino Maestro parish in via Vittorio Montiglio, Rome. Successively, his remains were transferred to Bagnoregio, Province of Viterbo, where Bishop Lino Fumagalli celebrated another Requiem Mass at the Concattedrale di San Nicola on Monday, April 16, at 15.30 pm. According to his wishes, Msgr. Rizzi was laid to rest inside the cemetery of Bagnoregio.
The First Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria after the fall of the Communist Regime, Monsignor Mario Rizzi was born in San Giovanni in Persiceto, Province of Bologna, Italy, on March 3, 1926, to a peasant family. Ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Bologna by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano on October 3, 1948, he earned a canon law degree and successively entered the Roman Curia on October 1, 1953, serving for decades in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, first as minutante, then as capo ufficio between 1969 and 1982, an ultimately as sub-secretary from September 21, 1982 until 1991.
Appointed Chaplain of His Holiness in 1960 and Domestic Prelate in 1969, at 65 years of age, Monsignor Rizzi was named Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria by Pope John Paul II, receiving his episocopal consecration with the Titular See of Bagnoregio on April 20, 1991, from Cardinal Angelo Sodano assisted by Archbishops Metodi Dimitrov Stratiev AA., and Benito Cocchi.
Rizzi's appointment as Vatican Representative in Bulgaria was the first in over 50 years. In fact, the last person to hold the position in Bulgaria was Monsignor Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII. When Roncalli was named Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece on January 12, 1935, Archbishop Giuseppe Mazzoli began serving as Delegate, until his early death in 1945. Monsignor Francesco Galloni followed until he was officially recalled by the Holy See in early 1950. Galloni left the country with the guarantees of the Bulgarian authorities that he would be allowed to return. However, he was denied re-entry and the office of the Apostolic Delegation was closed down.
As the first Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria after the fall of Communism in that country, Archbishop Rizzi restored its diplomatic relations with the Vatican. He retired from office on June 1, 1996.
Monsignor Rizzi was a renowned Latin philologist. His publications include "De triplici via", immersus in Saint Bonaventura's "Opera Omnia", 1976; "Nel regno di Bertoldo", 1976; "Diadumena di Dio", 1982; "Catullus Auratus", 1988; "Il trifoglio di San Patrizio", 1989; "In Laudem Finniae", 1997; and eight personal notes in Latin in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" of the Pope Benedict XVI in "Urbe", 2007. He was also a frequent correspondent of the "Latinitas" and "Apollinaris" Latin reviews.
Alberto Forni covered Rizzi's experiences in Bulgaria in the 2009 publication, "Sui sentieri di Papa Roncalli. La missione a Sofia di Mons. Mario Rizzi (1991-1996)".
Appointed commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1990, member of the Magister Academiae Latinitati Fovendae, honorary canon of the Capitolo della Insigne Collegiata di S. Giovanni in Persiceto, member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, corrector of Vatican documents, Pope John Paul II named him consultor ad quinquennium for the Congregation of the Oriental Churches in 1997.
Rector of the Chiesa dei Bolognesi of Rome, he served as postulator for the beatification cause of Bruno Marchesini, a seminarian from Bologna who died in odour of sanctity in 1938.
Decorated with the Horseman of Madara First Class Order by President Zhelyu Zhelev of Bulgaria on April 22, 1996, Monsignor Rizzi spent his last years in Rome, residing at via delle Sorelle Marchisio.
Archbishop Rizzi died in Rome on Friday, April 13, 2012, aged 86, in the early hours of the evening. Funeral Mass was said at the Gesù Divino Maestro parish in via Vittorio Montiglio, Rome. Successively, his remains were transferred to Bagnoregio, Province of Viterbo, where Bishop Lino Fumagalli celebrated another Requiem Mass at the Concattedrale di San Nicola on Monday, April 16, at 15.30 pm. According to his wishes, Msgr. Rizzi was laid to rest inside the cemetery of Bagnoregio.
Appointed Chaplain of His Holiness in 1960 and Domestic Prelate in 1969, at 65 years of age, Monsignor Rizzi was named Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria by Pope John Paul II, receiving his episocopal consecration with the Titular See of Bagnoregio on April 20, 1991, from Cardinal Angelo Sodano assisted by Archbishops Metodi Dimitrov Stratiev AA., and Benito Cocchi.
Rizzi's appointment as Vatican Representative in Bulgaria was the first in over 50 years. In fact, the last person to hold the position in Bulgaria was Monsignor Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII. When Roncalli was named Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece on January 12, 1935, Archbishop Giuseppe Mazzoli began serving as Delegate, until his early death in 1945. Monsignor Francesco Galloni followed until he was officially recalled by the Holy See in early 1950. Galloni left the country with the guarantees of the Bulgarian authorities that he would be allowed to return. However, he was denied re-entry and the office of the Apostolic Delegation was closed down.
As the first Apostolic Nuncio in Bulgaria after the fall of Communism in that country, Archbishop Rizzi restored its diplomatic relations with the Vatican. He retired from office on June 1, 1996.
Monsignor Rizzi was a renowned Latin philologist. His publications include "De triplici via", immersus in Saint Bonaventura's "Opera Omnia", 1976; "Nel regno di Bertoldo", 1976; "Diadumena di Dio", 1982; "Catullus Auratus", 1988; "Il trifoglio di San Patrizio", 1989; "In Laudem Finniae", 1997; and eight personal notes in Latin in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" of the Pope Benedict XVI in "Urbe", 2007. He was also a frequent correspondent of the "Latinitas" and "Apollinaris" Latin reviews.
Alberto Forni covered Rizzi's experiences in Bulgaria in the 2009 publication, "Sui sentieri di Papa Roncalli. La missione a Sofia di Mons. Mario Rizzi (1991-1996)".
Appointed commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1990, member of the Magister Academiae Latinitati Fovendae, honorary canon of the Capitolo della Insigne Collegiata di S. Giovanni in Persiceto, member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, corrector of Vatican documents, Pope John Paul II named him consultor ad quinquennium for the Congregation of the Oriental Churches in 1997.
Rector of the Chiesa dei Bolognesi of Rome, he served as postulator for the beatification cause of Bruno Marchesini, a seminarian from Bologna who died in odour of sanctity in 1938.
Decorated with the Horseman of Madara First Class Order by President Zhelyu Zhelev of Bulgaria on April 22, 1996, Monsignor Rizzi spent his last years in Rome, residing at via delle Sorelle Marchisio.
Archbishop Rizzi died in Rome on Friday, April 13, 2012, aged 86, in the early hours of the evening. Funeral Mass was said at the Gesù Divino Maestro parish in via Vittorio Montiglio, Rome. Successively, his remains were transferred to Bagnoregio, Province of Viterbo, where Bishop Lino Fumagalli celebrated another Requiem Mass at the Concattedrale di San Nicola on Monday, April 16, at 15.30 pm. According to his wishes, Msgr. Rizzi was laid to rest inside the cemetery of Bagnoregio.
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