FRANCESCO SACCARDO. — Catholic journalist, born in Venice on 12 Sept. 1862, died in Chirignago (Venice) on 22 Oct. 1931.
Having graduated in law, after a brief period of legal practice he turned to journalism, initially collaborating in literary reviews. In the early days of daily journalism, he was guided by SACCHETTI, FRANCO (v.) in the editorial office of *La Specola* in Padua, and in 1888 succeeded him as editor of *La Lega lombarda* in Milan. In 1898, Cardinal Sarto entrusted him with the direction of *La difesa*, a Catholic daily in Venice, where he remained until November 1917, when the sad conditions of the city after the Caporetto rout made it impossible for the paper to continue.
He served as a municipal councillor in Venice during the Grimani administration and took an active part in important civic matters. He later became president of the provincial administration and of the Catholic Insurance Society in Verona. Politically, he consistently aligned with Catholics seeking a just reconciliation between the Holy See and the Italian State, addressing the issue with balanced thought and measured language in his writings and speeches. Initially a member of the Italian People’s Party, he later joined the National Catholic Centre.