Mario Pio Gaspari was born on 8 April 1918 in
San Felice sul Panaro,
Province of Modena. He was ordained a priest on 21 July 1940. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See and devoted himself largely to Latin American affaires, serving in the nunciatures in Venezuela and Brazil. On 5 August 1967, Pope Paul named him to succeed
Agostino Casaroli as Undersecretary of the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church (later merged into the
Secretariat of State of the Holy See. On 22 September 1972, the Italian government honor Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana On 6 June 1973,
Pope Paul VI appointed him Titular Archbishop of
Numida and
Apostolic Legate to Mexico. On 29 June 1973, he received his episcopal consecration from Pope Paul. On 16 November 1977, Pope Paul named him
Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to
Japan.
Pope John Paul II visited Japan in 1981 while Gaspari was nuncio there. He died of heart failure on 23 June 1983 at the age of 65 and Japan's bishops celebrated a funeral Mass on 30 June. Casaroli, now a cardinal, spoke at his funeral in
St. Peter's Basilica on 7 July 1983. ==References==