Bedini was born in
Senigallia into the Bedini family of
Ostra, the son of Alessandro Pellegrino and Marianna Spadoni. The youngest of 7 sons, Bedini was intended by his father to be a priest. He entered the seminary at Senigallia and was ordained a
Roman Catholic priest on 20 December 1828 by Cardinal
Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata. In the following years he became canon of the cathedral of Senigallia (1829–1838). Thanks to influential friends, including Giovanni Mastai Ferretti (the future
Pope Pius IX, also native of Senigallia), he dedicated himself to politics. He was secretary of
Lodovico Altieri,
archbishop of
Ephesus and
nuncio in
Austria from 1838 to 1845. When Lodovico Altieri was named cardinal, Bedini gained exposure to the diplomatic atmosphere, and he was subsequently called to Rome as Papal Chamberlain of
Gregorius XVI and the
Protonotary apostolic.
Apostolic nunziatura in Brazil The first important assignment received by Bedini was that of
Internuncio in
Brazil, from 28 October 1845 to 16 August 1847. He worked for the improvement of the living conditions of German immigrants and supported Catholicism against the Protestant proselytism. His work led the Chamber of Deputies of
Rio de Janeiro to improve the living conditions of the German immigrants.
Contacts with Garibaldi Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was also living in South America at the time, wrote a famous letter to Bedini in 1847 in which he declared "to offer to Pius IX its sword and the Italian legion for the native land and the church", remembered "the garnishments of our August religion, always new and always immortal" and reminded that "the throne of
Peter rests over such foundations that need no aid because the human forces cannot shake them". Bedini replied thanking him, but the offer to Rome of the Roman legion was never received.
Roman Republic and legation in Bologna Returning to Rome in March 1848, Bedini replaced the
Cardinal Secretary of State Giacomo Antonelli, from 10 March 1848 until November 1848 following Pius IX when he was forced into exile in Gaeta, by the Roman Republic (1849) revolution in Rome. Once the Pope had recovered his temporal power, Bedini continued his job of Papal Nuncio and commissioner in the
Legations to
Bologna from 1849 to 1852. Just at the beginning of that period,
Ugo Bassi was captured at
Comacchio and executed on 8 August 1849 in Bologna by the Austrians. Many patriots accused Bedini of non-intervention in order to save himself. In his position at Bologna, however, he restored the
Palazzo d'Accursio with the restyling of
Sala Urbana and the construction of the
Aula Piana, he adopted provisions for the unemployed, favoured commerce with the construction of new roads, promoted agriculture, and restored important artistic monuments like the Villa San Michele in Foresta. of Cardinal Bedini in the U.S. in 1853 (National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution, USA).
Apostolic nunciature in United States On 15 March 1852 he was named
titular Archbishop of Thebes, and, three days after,
Apostolic Nuncio in
Brazil. Once he received the archiepiscopal order on 4 July 1852 from cardinal
Luigi Lambruschini, he decided to leave for Brazil, but since he could not enter the country because of a plague epidemic, he went to the United States. He was the first Papal Nuncio in the United States. He arrived in
New York City on 30 June 1853. He became the target of attacks by non-Catholics because of his role in overthrowing the Anti-Papal
Roman Republic in 1849, and his visit triggered the
Cincinnati Riot of 1853 in which several hundred men marched in protest against his visit. While travelling, Bedini met the president of the United States,
Franklin Pierce, to whom he delivered a letter from the Pope, and the American Secretary of State,
William L. Marcy. He ordained some new bishops, amongst whom were
James Roosevelt Bayley, Bishop of the
Diocese of Newark;
John Loughlin, bishop of the
Diocese of Brooklyn; and
Louis De Goesbriand, bishop of the
Diocese of Burlington. After visiting New York,
Pittsburgh,
Louisville,
Baltimore, and
Philadelphia, he returned to Rome from
New Orleans in January 1854.
Position in Curia After returning to Italy he worked more intensely in the
Roman Curia. On 20 June 1856 he was named General Secretary of the
Sacred Congregation for the Propaganda of the Faith. He also initiated some plans such as the constitution of the
North American College to Rome that with his aid had bought a building on Humility Street on 22 September 1858. After having resolved all the bureaucratic problems this institute was inaugurated on 8 December 1859.
Cardinal of Viterbo In March 1861, Bedini was named
Bishop of Viterbo and Tuscanella (today's
Tuscania). He entered the city on May 8, 1861 from the Porta Romana. He opened the pastoral visit by going to several of the counties of the diocese and taking care of the sacred places, the monasteries, and especially of the
seminary, in which he improved the instruction (calling Pietro Artemi from
Bagnoregio for the rhetorical school), arranged the cleaning of the premises and enlarged the building with the purchase of the Cristofari palace. On September 27, 1861, he was made
Cardinal of the
Order of the Priests with
Santa Maria sopra Minerva as his church.
Death Cardinal Bedini died on the morning of 6 September 1864 at 59 years old, probably of an apoplectic stroke. The people of the city of
Viterbo grieved immensely at the unexpected news. The theatre was closed in sign of mourning. He was buried in the Cathedral of the city near his predecessor as bishop, Saint Matteo Gonella. In
Luigi Magni's film
In the Name of the Sovereign People (1990), Bedini is played by
Luigi De Filippo. ==See also==