Roman Catholic Cardinal. Alba born Giovanni Coppa entered the local seminary before heading to the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, earning a doctorate in modern letters. Ordained priest on January 2, 1949, he served as diocesan delegate for the aspirants of the Catholic Action before being called to the Roman Curia to work in the Apostolic Chancery as a Latinist in 1952. Passing to the Secretariat of State in 1958, as of 1954 he acted as director of the monthly retreat of the nuns of the Holy Family of Spoleto at their house in Monte Gallo, Rome. Vice chaplain of the Palatine Guard of Honor and responsible of the conference of Saint Vincent of Paul, during the Second Vatican Council he served an expert for the Latin language. Named honorary canon of the chapter of the Patriarchal Vatican Basilica in 1965, five years later he was named capo ufficio and attuario of the meeting of the cardinal heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Appointed assessor of the Secretariat of State when the Association of Saints Peter and Paul was instituted in the Vatican, the named Secretariat appointed him its counselor. Chaplain of the Franciscan Nuns of Atonement, Coppa was furthermore responsible of the Gruppo del Vangelo. Authoring across the years various works on Saint Ambrose, the Gospels and the Fathers of the Church, numerous articles of his appeared among others in "L'Osservatore Romano", "Ecclesia", "Latinitas", "Studi Romani", "Aevum", "Cicero" and "Monitor Ecclesiasticus". Elected archbishop of the titular see of Serta and appointed delegate for the pontifical representations in the Secretariat of State on December 1, 1979, he received his episcopal consecration at the Patriarchal Vatican Basilica on January 6 of the following year from Pope John Paul II. Travelling around the world five times as delegate for the pontifical representations in order to visit them all, he was ultimately named apostolic nuncio in Czechoslovakia on June 30, 1990 and eventually nuncio in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia on March 2, 1994. Resigning the Czech Republic nunciature on May 19, 2001, Pope Benedict XVI created him cardinal deacon in the consistory of November 24, 2007 with the deaconry of San Lino. Spending his later years in retirement at Vatican City, his memoirs "Rialza il povero dall'immondizia" were published in 2014. He passed away shortly after his ninetieth birthday at the Casa di Cura Villa Luisa in Rome.