SACCARDO, FRANCESCO. – Catholic journalist, born in Venice on 12 September 1862, died at Chirignago (Venice) on 22 October 1931.
After graduating in law, he practiced as a lawyer for a short time before turning to journalism, initially contributing to literary journals. In the early days of daily journalism, his mentor was SACCHETTI, FRANCO (v.), on the editorial staff of La Specola of Padua; in 1888 he succeeded him as editor of La Lega lombarda of Milan. In 1898, Cardinal Sarto’s confidence led him to take charge of La difesa, the Catholic daily of Venice, where he remained until November 1917, when, owing to the city’s difficult circumstances after the defeat at Caporetto, the newspaper could no longer continue.
A municipal councillor of Venice during the Grimani administration, he concerned himself with important civic interests. He subsequently became president of the provincial administration and of the Soc. cattolica d’assicurazione of Verona. Politically, he was always among those Catholics seeking a just reconciliation between the Holy See and the Italian State, addressing the matter with balanced thought and temperate language in his writings and speeches. Initially a member of the Partito popolare italiano, he later joined the Centro cattolico nazionale.