BENIGNI, UMBERTO. — Priest, b. 30 March 1862 at Perugia, d. 1934 at Rome. A scholar of some renown in historical and social studies, he devoted himself to teaching and held various ecclesiastical offices. It is, however, still premature and difficult to form a balanced and definitive judgment on many aspects of his life and his multifaceted, and at times unclear, activity. In addition to founding the Rassegna sociale, the first Catholic periodical of its kind, B. is responsible for the Storia sociale della Chiesa, begun in 1907 and carried forward in several volumes (the last of which appeared in 1933) up to the 11th century; Die Getreidepolitik der Päpste (Berlin 1898); Historiae ecclesiasticae prolegomena (2nd ed., ibid. 1900); Historiae ecclesiasticae repertorium (Siena 1902); and the Manuale di stile diplomatico, especially for use in ecclesiastical service (Florence 1920).
Enciclopedia Cattolica