Ernesto Fontana was born on 7 October 1830 in
Milan, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 1 April 1854. He taught moral theology at the Major Seminary of Milan. He served as Rector of the
Pontifical Lombard Seminary in Rome from 1878 to 1894. He was named a consultor to the
Sacred Congregation of the Index and a member of the
Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He received his episcopal consecration in the Seminary chapel on 24 May 1894 from Cardinal
Lucido Maria Parocchi. ==References==