ARRIGONI, GIULIO

ARRIGONI, GIULIO. — Archbishop, born in Bergamo on 22 September 1806, died in Lucca on 9 January 1875. Having completed his early studies at the diocesan seminary, in 1821 he entered the Order of Friars Minor; he was sent to Italian Switzerland to exercise his ministry there. Wishing to devote himself to the missions, he went to Rome, where he distinguished himself above all as an orator, so much so that he was soon regarded as one of the best preachers in Italy. In 1844 he was appointed professor of dogmatic theology at the University of Pisa. In 1848, together with G. B. Giorgini, he drafted the initial outline of the Tuscan Statute. Elected archbishop of Lucca by Pius IX on 5 November 1849, he proved to be a man of government, endowed with singular energy and wholly devoted to improving ecclesiastical discipline and advancing sound scholarship among the clergy.