ALIMONDA, GAETANO. - Cardinal, born in Genoa on 23 Oct. 1818, died there on 31 May 1891. He studied at the seminary in Genoa and, after being ordained priest on 10 June 1843, was appointed vice-rector and bursar of the same seminary. The vicar capitular, Msgr. Ferrari, named him rector, a position he held until 1854. A series of apologetic conferences held in Genoa in 1864 revealed him as one of the greatest orators of the time. Pius IX, on 21 Sept. 1877, appointed him bishop of Albenga. Leo XIII, in the consistory of 12 May 1879, created him cardinal with the title of S. Maria in Trasportina and summoned him to Rome, where he remained until 1883, when, upon the death of Msgr. Gastaldi, he was elected archbishop of Turin. His Turin episcopate was distinguished by extensive apostolic work. He was a friend and supporter of St. John Bosco and received the consolation of the PASSAGLIA, CARLO (v.) Franchi (v.). A leading precursor of conciliation, in 1887, in full accord with Leo XIII, he published the study: I voti degli italiani per la pace religiosa. Its guiding principles were as follows: Italians must desire that the Pope be free, that Rome preserve its historical destiny, and that their national life unfold in friendship with the Pope. The Roman Question—he wrote—"through special treaties can be said to be the question of the Italian family."
Among his works, besides 12 collections of homilies, the following should be noted: Il dogma dell'Immacolata - Ragionamenti, Genoa 1856; L'uomo sotto la legge del sovrannaturale, ibid. 1864-67; I problemi del sec. XIX, ibid. 1876; Il mio episcopato, ibid. 1880; Il sovrannaturale nell'uomo, ibid. 1881; Panegirici, Turin 1886; Lutero e l'Italia, ibid. 1888; Lettere al canonico Vinelli, Genoa 1892.