Catholic Culture: On the occasion of the centenary of his death, L’Osservatore Romano has recalled the figure of Cardinal Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro (1843-1913), whom the newspaper described as the “true helmsman” of the Church during the last years of the pontificate of Leo XIII (1878-1903).
Cardinal Rampolla’s ecclesiastical career included service as apostolic nuncio to Spain (1882-87), Secretary of State (1887-1903), archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica (1894-1913), president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1902-08), Secretary of the Congregation of the Holy Office (1908-13), and Vatican Librarian (1912-13). Read more here.
For information of Rampolla’s suspected association with freemasonry see here and here (scroll down to election of Saint Pius X).
