CARLO RADINI TEDESCHI. — Catholic organizer, born in Piacenza in 1829, died there on March 23, 1908. From a noble family, he preserved and passed on to his many children the finest traditions; he was the father of Giacomo (q.v.).
He held public office in Piacenza with honor and earned many merits in Catholic Action, distinguishing himself especially in the legal defense of pious works; for several years he presided over the Section of the Catholic Congresses dedicated precisely to promoting foundations and bequests of charity and worship, both in court and in administrative disputes, particularly after the promulgation of the anticlerical Crispi law of July 1890. In the principal dioceses, colleges were established to provide legal advice and assistance to episcopal curias, church fabbrics, and confraternities, in order to oppose arbitrary interference with preserved foundations or undue interference by fiscal agents to suppress others. These local colleges reported to the Section of the Catholic Congresses, and not a few cases were won before the courts and tribunals or through appeals to the Council of State. Radini Tedeschi held this presidency for as long as the Catholic Congresses lasted (1904), to the great advantage of pious institutions; among other things, he was involved in some of the most painful matters in the relations between the Holy See and the Italian State.