Giulio Bevilacqua was born in
Isola della Scala to a family of
merchants. He studied at the University of Louvain in
Belgium and the
seminary in
Brescia, and later entered the
Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. Bevilacqua was
ordained to the
priesthood on 13 June 1908, and then did
pastoral work in Brescia until 1914. During
World War I, he served as a
chaplain to the
Italian Army and was captured by Austrian forces in 1916. He was made an official of the
Vatican Secretariat of State for his protection against
Fascist threats and lived in the Vatican from 1928 to 1933. On 15 February 1965, Bevilacqua was appointed
Auxiliary Bishop of
Brescia and
Titular Archbishop of Gaudiaba by Paul VI, in advance of his elevation to the
College of Cardinals. He received his
episcopal consecration on the following 18 February from Bishop Luigi Morstabilini, with Bishops
Giuseppe Carraro and Carlo Manziana, Orat, serving as
co-consecrators, in the basilica of Saints Faustus and Jovita. Pope Paul created him
Cardinal Deacon of
San Girolamo della Carità in the
consistory of 22 February of that year. By the special permission of the pope, Bevilacqua continued to serve as
pastor of Sant'Antonio
parish in Brescia. He assured his parishioners that he would also continue to wear a simple black
cassock. He died fifteen weeks later in Brescia on 6 May at the age of 83. He is buried in the church of Santa Maria della Pace. ==References==